Broken
by Sith Happens
Summary: A broken spirit hurts worse than broken flesh, but with the Saints at one's side, there's a chance to mend. Abuse and cursing inside, be forewarned
1. Respect

Every morning, Julie prayed for the Saints. When she could hear her parents stir in their upstairs bedroom, she silently pleaded to any god listening that those avenging angels would burst through the door one day and save her. She was twenty and still living at home with her family because she'd used all her money attending a community college. Working two jobs most days left her tired and sore and without money since her mother took "rent" out of every paycheck, which seemed to increase a little every time. Plus, she still had to buy her own food and clothes and bus fare.

The bedside clock said seven in the morning on her first full day off in a month. Julie figured it was safe to roll back over and catch an extra hour of sleep. She was wrong. A few minutes later, her father threw open her door, brandishing a half crushed milk jug.

"What the fuck is this," he railed, stalking over to her as she sat up in bed. He hit her hard across the face with the jug, and although it was plastic the bent corner made contact with her eye. "I fucking told you a hundred times, if you're gonna crush the milk jugs they gotta be smaller to fit in the trash can. What part of that don't you understand, you worthless little bitch?"

Julie held the side of her face and tried not to cry when her father grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her out of bed onto the floor. "Now get your lazy ass up and dressed. We got shit to do today."

She stayed on the floor, cowering until he left the room to let her change. As she pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she looked at a spot on her wall where a poster used to hang. It had been a mock-up wanted poster for the Saints of South Boston she had bought for five dollars at a corner stand. Her father had beaten her for a full ten minutes for wasting the money on it before ripping it down and saying tat no daughter of his was going to idolize a bunch of no-good, drunken micks who get of on shooting people.

The poster was probably resting in pieces in some dump now, but Julie still looked at its previous spot and remembered every detail, especially the sketches of their three faces. She had burned the images into her brain before throwing away the ripped pieces. She smiled at the thought of that poster as she finished dressing and left to meet her father.

---

Julie was walking down the sidewalk behind her father, carrying a carton of cigarettes, a pack of light bulbs, rat poison, and a bag of wood screws. She had cataloged everything in her mind because they were the only things she was really looking at. She had to keep her face down because a bruise was growing on her forehead from where her father had hit her with the handle of a screwdriver for dropping a few of the screws on the ground.

She almost ran into her father when he stopped abruptly. He was looking around a bit confused. "Which was did we park the car?"

"Two blocks down, Dad," she informed calmly.

Her father still looked around the street as if he hadn't heard. Julie repeated herself a little louder. "It's two blocks down, Dad."

Again, he seemed not to notice and again, Julie said even louder. "Dad, the car is two more blocks down the street."

He turned to her then, face red and contorted in anger. With his chest puffed out a bit, he rushed her, knocking her back a few steps. Through clenched teeth, he practically spat "Are you raising your voice to me?"

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her into the nearest alley. Julie had to grip the bags hard to keep from dropping them. Deep between the two brick buildings, she was thrown back against the wall.

"What did I tell you about raising your fucking voice to me," he roared, smacking her hard. "I'll teach you not to raise your voice to me ever again."

He picked up a half-crumbling brick and hit her in the face with it. The side of her face went numb, but she could feel blood oozing out between her lips as she slid down the wall. It wasn't the hardest thing she'd ever been hit with, and at least it didn't have any spring to it, like the time he had beaten her with a rebar rod because she had forgotten to water the flowers one day. She stayed on the ground, too stunned to go into full-fledged crying as he began to kick her in the side. Julie prayed silently for the millionth time in her life. She pleaded with any gods within earshot to make her father's legs cramp so he'd stop kicking or to make her pass out so she couldn't feel it. Something, anything to make the pain stop.

And for the first time in her 20 years of life, her prayers were answered.

"The fuck're ye doin'," a thick Irish voice said harshly.

Her father paused in beating her, and she tried to look up to see what was happening, but her eyes had hazed over and swollen a little from bruising. The most she could see was sunlight and the silhouette of three people above her.

"It's none of your business," her father said. "I'm just teaching my daughter some respect."

"Did ye hear that, Conner," another male, Irish voice remarked. "Apparently, respect comes from a brick to the face."

"Aye, Murph, seems it does," the first voice replied. "What d'ye say we teach 'im to respect us?"

"What a good idea, brother," the other voice agreed.

Julie could hear the sounds of a scuffle ensuing, then the sound of quickly retreating footsteps. Pain was starting to seep into her skin, causing her to whimper a little as she heard one of the Irish voices calling out "That's right, ye run, ye fuckin' pussy!"

"Look at her, Murph," the other voice said, close to her. "Her own father beatin' 'er like a mangy dog."

"What're we gonna do with her," the lighter voice asked. "Shouldn't we get 'er to a hospital?"

"We can't go there," came the answer. "The place is always crawlin' with cops."

"And we ain't got no fuckin' money to call an ambulance."

Julie felt herself start fading in and out of consciousness, the pain was horrible in every inch of her body. It didn't even have the strength to flinch when there was a metal crash near her head.

"Christ, Conner! Why don't we have a fuckin' cell phone like everyone else," one of the voices shouted.

"Because they call for a lot of paper work and personal information," the other answered. "Maybe we should take 'er home. Da'll know what ta do with 'er."

Julie felt strange hands lifting her off the ground. She tried to protest, but she only succeeded in squirming a little and whimpering in pain as one hand pressed into a bruise accidentally.

"Hush, sweetheart," the man soothed. "We're not gonna hurt ye."

A third hand smoothed hair off of her face. "Jesus, she's bruised up pretty bad."

The cool skin on her heated face made her become instantly tired. She didn't protest when the arms holding her shifted her a little for more comfort. "C'mon, Murph, let's go."

Julie felt herself being carried, faintly hearing steady footsteps on pavement, two sets in almost perfect unison. The sound lulled her into darkness.

---

When she came to, Julie found herself laying on a bare mattress that smelled faintly of beer and cigarettes. Her body was stiff and terribly sore, but she forced herself to move, flipping onto her stomach and pushing herself up with her elbows. She was startled when a hand touched her back, gently pushing her back down. Her body obeyed, only because the hand, though obviously not meant to hurt, was touching a tender part of her back, sending a jolt of pain through her. She let out a deep hiss.

"It's alright, darlin'," came yet another Irish voice, different from the ones in the alley.

Julie turned her aching head so that she could see who had been speaking to her. The face that looked down at her made her skin turn cold. He knealed on the floor beside the mattress, his face nearly covered in a mass of curling grey hair and a matching full beard. She recognized the face instantly from the pieces of her poster. But when she tried to talk, only a strangled groan came out.

The man smiled just a bit and dabbed a cool rag on her throbbing cheek. "I'm sure ye feel like shite right now, so just try ta relax. No harm will come ta ye here."

She let out a little sigh and licked her lips. This time her voice came out hoarsely. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

To her relief, he seemed to understand. With a slight not he answered "Aye."

"And the men, in the alley," she asked between deep breaths.

His smile grew. "Those'd be me boys."

Julie tried to smile back, but her face was too tight and painful to move. Instead, she settled on trying to show her appreciation with her eyes. She wasn't sure it was working until he rubbed her shoulder gently. When she hissed again in pain, his smile faded away. "It's ta me understandin' it was was your father what did this to ye. Is that true?"

"Yes," she whispered, diverting her eyes from is face.

He gave an angry grunt, brushing some hair back that had fallen in her face. Then, in a gentle voice he said "Back ta sleep with ye, then, lass."

The idea sounded appealing to her, so she closed her eyes again and fell back to sleep.


	2. Medicine

The next time Julie awoke, she felt someone brushing a cool cloth over her face again. Opening her eyes, she expected to see the older man kneeling beside her once more. Instead, she saw a much younger man with slightly tanned skin and light brown hair hovering over her. She recognized his face from the posters as well. He smiled down at her for a moment before turning his head to look behind him.

"Murphy, get over here," he called. "She's awake."

There was the sound of footsteps and the third semi-familiar face leaning over from her other side. He was pale and dark haired with a bit of a smirk on his face. His head bumped into the other man's, who promptly pushed him away. They had a bit of a shoving match above Julie's head before she sighed loudly and tried to sit up. Every single muscle in her body protested the act, but both men stopped their little battle abruptly, each placing a hand on her back and shoulders, helping her up.

"Up ye go then," the more tanned of the two said.

"Ye think we should be movin' 'er, Conner," the other, Murphy, asked concerned.

"She wants ta move anyway," Conner answered. "Might as well help 'er do it."

Once Julie was upright, she took a deep breath, licking her lips and looking at each of the men.

"Conner," she said, looking at the one with the light brown hair. Then, she turned her eyes to the other. "Murphy."

Murphy grinned. "She catches on quickly, doesn't she?"

"Aye, she does," Conner laughed. "And what might yer name be?"

"Julie," she whispered, looking down at her hands a little embarrassed.

"Well, Julie, you've been asleep in my bed for the last ten hours," came Murphy's voice, tinged with laughter. "If it had gotten much later, I'd've had to crawl in beside ye."

She looked up at him, wondering if she was blushing. Conner smiled and said "Of course, we could always more ye ta my bed. I don't snore as much as Murph here does."

"The fuck ye don't," Murphy argued, elbowing his brother in the side.

They both laughed, and Julie wanted to join in. It hurt too much to try to smile like she wanted to, so she gave a slight smirk, licked her dry lips, and gave an amused sigh. The laughter died a bit, but the brothers' smiles never faded. They scrutinized her a few moments, not harshly but with a sense of purpose. Then, Conner nudged his brother a bit.

"Maybe we should get 'er some water," he urged.

"Aye," Murphy nodded, standing. "I'll help ye find a clean glass."

They left her alone on the mattress, walking off to some place she wasn't prepared to turn her head to see. There was a rustling sound, glasses clinking together, and pipes vibrating as they were being turned on. She decided that just sitting there was too awkward and slowly managed to get on her knees. With a little groan of pain, she got her feet underneath her, feeling her left side swollen and throbbing.

"Whoa, there," Murphy called, grabbing her around the waist and slinging her arm over his shoulder. "Don't go pushin' yerself too much now. Wouldn't want ye passin' out again."

"I'll be fine," she hissed, trying to pull away.

Murphy held her tighter, supporting her as he looked over her head to his brother. "Seems we've got a tough one here."

"Oh, no doubt of it," Conner laughed close behind her. He grabbed her on the other side and both men practically carried her to the table, setting her gently on a chair.

Conner brought he glass of water to her lips, tilting it to help her drink. Julie furrowed her brow in annoyance and took the glass from him. He gave a big grin. "Feelin' feisty, are ye?"

"I think I like 'er already," Murphy laughed.

Julie drank the water slowly, letting her throat adjust to the welcome cool wetness. When she finished, she realized the men had been staring at her.

"How bad do I look," she asked softly, setting the glass on the table.

"I've seen worse," Murphy said. Then Conner added, "Just never on a woman."

She chanced a smile then, because she found it just too funny. It sent a shooting pain through her, but it wasn't the worst she had ever felt. She gripped the glass tightly and realized she had reopened a cut on her lip. "Do you guys have a mirror?"

"In the bathroom," Murphy gestured behind him.

Julie went to stand up, but Conner touched her shoulder, pressing her back down. "But fer now, ye just need ta relax. Trust us when we say it can only get better."

She touched a hand to her cheek to feel exactly how swollen it was. Experience told her that it would have progressed to an unnatural reddish-purple. She was tempted to lift her shirt to check her side, but modesty prevented that. At least there were no blood stains seeping through her shirt.

"Nothing's broken," she said, a little proud of herself.

"Ye must be made of some pretty stout stuff," Murphy joked. "What with the beatin' we saw ye take."

"I've had worse," she replied with a laughing sigh.

The brothers had been smiling, but when the comment left her lips, those charming smiles faded. They looked almost angry, and Julie was afraid she may have said something wrong. Tilting her head a little to the right and forward relieved some of the pressure on her wounds as she looked at both men. A few moments of uncomfortable silence stretched out until Conner gave a bit of a growl.

"Fucker's lucky we didn't kill 'im," he said flatly, going over to a small refrigerator that Julie could see now and pulling out a can of beer. He threw it to Murphy, who easily caught it.

"Aye," Murphy agreed hotly, popping the tab on the can and taking a sip. With a sly smile, he added "But at least the bastard'll think twice before ever raisin' his hand to anyone again."

Conner didn't seem as amused when he looked at his brother before continuing to rummage in the fridge. "Would ye like a beer, Julie?"

She was a little shocked to hear him speaking to her, but she promptly shook her head no and regretted even that small movement.

"Are ye sure," Murphy urged, taking another drink. "Might take the edge off some of the pain yer feelin'."

"Sorry boys," she smiled lopsidedly. "This girl doesn't drink. I'm not even old enough to legally."

"Really," Conner smiled, closing the fridge door and walking back toward the table as he opened his beer can. "Well, we wouldn't want ye to do anything illegal on our account."

Julie watched the boys drink and lamented her empty water glass. Licking her lips, she gripped the glass and struggled to her feet. Both men stood up, seemingly prepared to help her. But she brought her hand up to stop them. They obeyed the silent command, yet remained standing with concerned looks on their faces.

"Thanks guys, but I need to move around a bit," she said, wincing a little as she took a step. "If I don't, I'l just stiffen up and make it worse."

Conner nodded. "Ye certainly do sound like ye know what yer doin'."

She nodded back and took a few careful steps forward, holding the glass tightly, hoping she wouldn't break it. When she realized she would be able to walk suitably on her own, her steps became more confident. She made a shuffling bee-line for the sink on the other side of the big room, slow but sure.

"'Ey, Conner," Murphy said behind her. "We got any aspirin we could give 'er?"

"Aye," Conner answered, and there was a sound of creaking springs and thrown clothes.

Julie didn't turn around to look. Instead, she reached the sink and opened the faucet. There was a slight groaning before water started to flow. She filled the glass and took a sip. Behind her, the brothers were still rummaging around for the medicine. Knowing their eyes were no longer trained on her eased some of the tension in her back. She set the glass on the counter and leaned her hands on the edge of the sink. The move made her moan in pain, and without the need to keep up appearances in front of strangers, she started to cry. She didn't really want to, but it welled up in her throat, made her nose tingle until the tears started to flow. Sobbing silently, she tried wiping her face clean.

Suddenly, there was a hand petting her hair. She jumped slightly, opening her eyes. Murphy was beside her, combing his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner. He was close enough that his chest brushed against her arm. She tensed again, sniffling back her tears as he held out a bottle of aspirin to her.

"Here," he said gently. "This'll help a bit."

He draped his arm across her shoulders. Julie felt another hand slide around her waist from the other side. Conner was there, leaning in close as well, almost conspiratorially.

"And don't ye worry about cryin', darlin'," he smirked. "Ye know, it's alright for girls to do it."

That made Julie smile. She looked back and forth between each brother and gave a soft "Thank you."

They smiled at her while she swallowed some medicine, washing it down with another sip of water. Then she let both men help her back to the table.


	3. A Couple of Cards

"Ye had a poster of us in yer room," Conner laughed. "Did ye know they made posters of us, Murphy?"

Julie smiled broadly, the aspirin having dulled most of the pain in her face. Murphy gave her a smirk and asked "Did ye have it hangin' over yer bed?"

"No," she laughed, repositioning her hand of cards. "It was on the back of my door 'til my dad ripped it down."

"Fair enough, then," Conner smiled, trying to peek at his brother's cards.

The three had been playing poker and talking for a good three hours. Julie learned a great deal about them, especially that Murphy hated their new apartment because stumbling to the toilet took a few extra steps in the middle of the night. And that Conner was ambidextrous, something that his brother had outgrown envying him for. They had matching tattoos of the Mother Mary on their necks, and while one sported a tat of the Latin for "truth," the other had one in the Latin for "justice," which she found fitting. She had jokingly remarked that they should have someone get inked with "the American way" to seal the deal.

So far, the men had learned that Julie once had a post of them; she didn't smile, didn't drink, and didn't lose at Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit. And that she was one mean poker player.

"Read 'em and weep, boys," she laughed, laying down a king-high straight.

"Fuck, she's good," Murphy grunted, throwing down his cards.

Conner looked stunned. "How the fuck'd ye do that?"

Julie just smiled and gathered the cards together. "Just be glad we're not playing for money."

"Oh, we are," Conner nodded, looking disappointed and taking a drag of his cigarette.

Murphy leaned back in his chair, sipping another can of beer. "I think I'm done playin' for the night."

Conner nodded in agreement, flicking ashes into the tray. She watched him deliberately blow the smoke out of the corner of his mouth away from her.

"Well guys," Julie smiled weakly, putting the deck back in the pack. "If we're done playing, I guess I'll mosey on home."

"The fuck're you talking about," Murphy asked, looking confused as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Perhaps there's been a wee bit of a misunderstandin'," Conner said. "Ye'll be stayin' with us fer awhile."

Julie sat stunned for a moment, then shook her head, slowly rising to her feet. "Thanks for the offer, but I can't."

"N'why the hell not," Conner replied, standing up. "There's no way ye could want ta go back ta yer da."

"But," she started to argue, then Murphy stood quickly, knocking his chair over and interrupting her.

"He took a fuckin' brick to yer face, Julie," he nearly shouted. "We're not lettin' that happen again."

"As much as I appreciate your kindness," she replied, feeling the aspirin starting to wear off. "I can't impose on you any more. It's not your responsibility to look after me."

"We made it our responsibility when we saved yer ass in that alley," Conner said, leaning his hands on the table and looking up at her.

"Oh boys," she managed to smile, clenching her teeth in pain. "My ass is definitely none of your concern."

Murphy smiled, but Julie still turned away. She walked toward the door, ignoring the sound of heavy booted footsteps behind her. Managing a few feeble steps, she finally crumbled to her knees, giving a soft whispered "Fuck."

"D'ye hear the mouth on 'er," came Murphy's voice above her head in a laughing tone.

"Aye," was Conner's equally close response.

She could feel them standing above her, looking down on her hunched form before reaching for her. Shaking them off, she leaned back on her heels, cradling her left arm close to her chest. Both brothers were kneeling beside her now, eye level with her. She glanced at each with concern.

"I don't have a lot of money saved," she ventured carefully. "I won't be able to work for a few days being beat up like this…"

"We don't need yer money, darlin'," Conner chuckled, placing a hand on the back of her neck.

Murphy was grinning at her. "Aye, we make enough on our own that we could take care of ye fer a while.

"And where am I supposed to sleep," Julie asked.

"Don't want to sleep with us, eh," Murphy joked.

Conner laughed harder. "Ye can have Da's room while he's away."

"Where'd he go," she sounded a bit disappointed. "I was hoping to see him."

"He left this afternoon," Murphy answered. "Said something about wantin' to see Ma."

Julie gave a laughing breath. "Do you guys always take in strays?"

Both brothers laughed hysterically, Conner pausing long enough to say "Only when they've got no place else ta go."

"Or they're as pretty as you," Murphy chimed in. "Even with half yer face fucked up."

Julie shoved his shoulder playfully, watching him fall back in an overly dramatic fashion as if she'd wounded him. She laughed hard, ending in a soft whimper because of the pain that flared in her cheek. "You guys got any more aspirin? Or maybe a horse sedative?"

"Aspirin we have," Murphy answered, pulling the bottle out of his pocket and shaking it. "Though, I think a horse sedative would kill ye."

She shook her head. "Shit probably wouldn't work."

"Cursin' again, are ye," Conner smiled. "Well, I think it should be off ta bed with ye then, missy."

"One side of my face agrees," Julie half-smiled. "The other half thinks you should mind your own business."

"Gettin' sassy, eh," Murphy smirked, then without warning scooped her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground. "If me brother says ye should be ta bed, then I'll be takin' ye ta bed."

"Whoa now, Murph," Conner laughed. "Do I have to follow ye in there to make sure ye behave yerself?"

"'Ey, I'm always a gentleman," Murphy protested lightly, then gave Julie a wink. "Until the lady says otherwise."

Julie knew she was blushing then, even though Conner replied. "Oh, is that right? Well I don't trust ye one bit alone with a girl in a bedroom, especially with a helpless one."

She resented the helpless part, even though it was true, but she bit her tongue as Murphy carried her toward the room with Conner following. It was completely unnecessary. She could have gotten there on her own. Worse beatings had happened, with no one there to help her through it. But it felt good to be taken care of for a change, letting someone, two someones, who were stronger than her make everything alright for a few moments of time.

But she would admit to feeling childish, foolish, when both men tucked her into bed like a little girl. Leaning over her like studious parents about to say goodnight. They watched her take a few more aspirin and pulled the covers up to her chin when she laid down. When both men looked like they would lean down and kiss her, she had finally had enough.

"Oh stop it," she said, shooing them away with her right hand. "I'm not a child. I can put myself to sleep just fine."

"An' here we are tryin' ta be all sweet and carin'," Conner feigned disappointment, covering his heart as if it'd been wounded. "And ye don't even appreciate it."

Murphy shrugged. "I was in it fer the goodnight kiss."

Julie gave an annoyed groan, pulling a pillow gingerly over her face. She felt fingers brush the back of her hand before hearing Conner muffled through the pillow "Sweet dreams, Julie."

"And if ye get lonely," Murphy added. "Ye can always come sleep in my bed again."

Julie peeked out from under the pillow to watch Conner dragging Murphy by his collar a bit. "Why d'ye always have to be catty?"

"Ah, she needs the cheerin' up," was Murphy's faint response as the door to the bedroom closed.

She looked over at the bedside clock. Almost eleven o'clock at night. It felt much later. Her eyes drooped as she watched a few more minutes tick by. But even an unfamiliar room couldn't keep her from falling asleep.


	4. Shower

"Julie," she heard someone whisper close to her ear, bringing her out of sleep. "Wake up, Julie."

Rolling onto her back with a stiff groan, she opened her eyes slowly. A penguin plush toy hovered close above her face.

"Pokey," she questioned groggily and heard two men start laughing.

The penguin was waived back and forth and a decidedly high-pitched version of Conner's voice mocked "I thought you said you weren't a child."

Julie grabbed the penguin, hugging it to her chest. Conner and Murphy were standing over her in bed smiling like the cats that ate the canary. She sat up and noticed it didn't hurt as much as yesterday. "Where'd you get him?"

"Where d'ye think," Murphy smirked.

Her sleep-addled brain took a few seconds to realize what he was saying. Eyes widening, she gripped each brother by the wrist. "Did you guys…"

The amusement left their faces as they looked at each other. Murphy raised an eyebrow as Conner shook his head. "No we didn't. He wasn't even there."

"If he had been," she questioned.

"Then he'd be dead right now," Murphy answered flatly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Julie nodded slowly. "Then don't ever go back there."

"Shouldn't have to," Conner smiled, tousling her hair.

"Aye," Murphy remarked, lighting two cigarettes and handing one to Conner. "We got most of yer shit in those bags over there."

She got to her knees on the bed so she could look around Conner. There were three or four big black trash bags on the floor near the door. The were stuffed to brimming and tied closed.

"Wow," Julie gave a low whistle. "I didin't know I had that much stuff."

"Most of it's just stuff ye had layin' 'round," Conner replied. "We didn't want ye to have to go back fer anything."

"And my clothes," she asked.

"All in one of the bags," Murphy answered, sitting on the bed beside her, one leg draped over the edge.

Julie gave a smirk. "Do I need to ask who went through my underwear drawer?"

Murphy winked and nudged her shoulder with his, then used his cigarette to point at his brother. "I'd say it was a collaborative effort on our part."

She smiled when she saw Conner give a playful smirk. He flicked some ashes into the bedside tray, putting the cigarette back to his lips before holding a hand out to her. "C'mon then, darlin'. We brought ye home some breakfast."

"Breakfast," Julie's eyes lit up. Her stomach started to growl at the thought. The day before, she had been in too much pain to even think about eating. Now she felt positively ravenous. She nearly put her hand in Conner's, but looked down at herself, in her soiled, slept-in, day old clothes. Eying the bags on the floor, she said with a smile, "Maybe I should clean up first."

" 'N'why d'ye think ye'd need ta do that," Murphy smiled, brushing some hair off her shoulder and leaning his chin there. He took at deep whiff of her shirt. "Ye don't smell that bad."

"But I feel disgusting." Julie pointed a warning finger at Murphy. "And keep your hands to yourself

Both boys laughed as Murphy raised his hands in surrender. Conner held his hand out once again. "Alright, then, I'll see ye to the bathroom to freshen up."

"Actually," she said, taking his hand. "I was thinking a nice, hot shower."

Conner started to pull her to her feet gently, Murphy putting a hand on the small of her back to give her a boost upward. Once she was up, she stretched a little, feeling looser than the night before. Murphy must have noticed, because he replied casually "Movin' 'round a bit better today, I see."

Julie nodded, still clutching her side as she bent down to rummage through the bags for a change of clothes. She settled on the unceremonious combination of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing out a clean bra and underwear. Balling everything up in a huge wad of clothes, she turned back to Conner.

"Lead the way," she smiled, then paused, thinking. "Crap, no toothbrush."

"Aye," Murphy said, putting the cigarette in his mouth as he stood and felt around each of his pockets. Finally landing on the particular one, he produced the toothbrush and held it out for her. "Here ye go, sweetheart."

Astonished, Julie took the toothbrush and laughed. "Boy, you guys are amazing."

"We try to be thorough," Conner grinned, showing her to the bathroom. And despite her ease around the brothers, she was rather relieved to see it had a lock.

---

After her nice, long shower, Julie felt nearly ten times better. Brushing her teeth was rather hard work with how swollen her face was, but she managed. She took a few moments to ring the water out of her hair, forsaking the idea of drying it due to her famished stomach. When she left the bathroom, she could hear the faint sound of a familiar CD playing in the main room.

Conner and Murphy sat at the table, listening to her CD of Flogging Molly. She knew they had just started it because Drunken Lullabies was playing. They looked up at her when she entered, pushing an open box on the table in her direction. Peeking inside, she found an assorted bunch of donuts. Not exactly the greatest breakfast in the world, but her stomach had no real complaints. She munched on a chocolate one with a smile.

"I see you guys found my CD collection," she grinned.

"Aye, and we really like this band," Murphy grinned, bobbing his head a little to the music.

"An Irish band, o' course," Conner remarked. "Which reminds me, for a girl who doesn't drink, ye have an awful lot of shirts and such with Guinness plastered all over it."

"I think she has a thing for us Irishmen," Murphy joked. "Ain't that right, Julie?"

She was laughing so hard, she nearly coughed up bits of her donut. She paused in chewing, covering her mouth politely as she replied "I'll admit, I have a bit of a fascination with most things Celtic and Gaelic in origin."

"Ah," Conner nodded. "Understandable. I mean, who could be more interestin' then the Irish?"

Julie finished her donut and reached for another one, but only the cream-filled one was left. She let it alone and sat back in her chair, listening to the music and the sounds of two brothers carrying on dramatically with the words of the songs. Murphy got up to grab Conner and himself a beer, despite how early in the afternoon it was. On his way back, the phone rang. He picked up the receiver and said "Hello?"

There was a short pause, the amusement leaving his face entirely. After little less than 30 seconds, he hung up the phone without a good-bye. He quickly jotted down a note. "'Ey, Conn. Get over here."

Conner gave Julie a quick glance, saying gently. "Excuse us."

He stood and strode over to Murphy. They whispered to each other a few seconds and Julie began to worry.


	5. Language Class

When the brothers came back to the table, they seemed a little more guarded, more on edge. Julie didn't dare try to break the tension. It wasn't her job. Instead, she did the next best thing she could think of. She picked up the empty donut box and a few discarded beer cans and threw them away. After that little task, she was lost. She wanted to straighten up a little, but she didn't want to disturb anything. With a sigh, she settled on heading back for the table.

Murphy and Conner were sitting close together, whispering some more. They weren't paying much attention as she sat down, though their voices lowered a little. It was a bit garbled at first until she picked up a few words. They were speaking German. She caught the whispered word meeting and bad men. To her shock, she figured they were speaking about a hit they were planning on making.

"Sprechen Sie eine verschieden Sprache," she said loudly.

"What," Conner looked up startled.

"Miene Großmutter war deutsch. Sie unterrichtete mich gut," Julie replied. "If you want to hide something from me, you can't use German. No Latin either. I don't know proper grammer for it, but I know lots of words."

The brothers looked half astonished and half annoyed. Murphy gave a slow smile. "Parlez-vous le francais?"

Julie shook her head. "Just enough to know that you asked me if I know it."

"Bon," Conner nodded, turning his attention back to his brother, but Murphy was still smirking at Julie.

"Une belle fille comme vous ne sait pas la langue d'amour," he asked with a laughing lilt. "Vous comme nous vous enseigner?"

Julie tried to figure out was he was saying. A few words were recognizable, but she still had no idea what was really being said; except that maybe she was being patronized for not knowing the language.

"Le flirt quitte et laisse arrivent aux affaires," Conner said in a low tone, almost chiding.

Murphy sat back, flicking ashes into the tray. "Vous ne pouvez pas reprocher a un homme l'essai."

Conner smiled and gave a little laugh. "N'oublier pas. Je l'ai vue premier."

They both started talking in-depth in French and it was too much for Julie to process. Instead of letting her headache worsen, she grabbed the bottle of aspirin from the counter and went into the bathroom to splash her face with water. She looked at her face in the unfogged mirror and cringed. Her left cheek was a disgusting shade of purple with greenish-yellow already starting around the edges. At least it was healing quickly and hadn't ripped the skin to hell. There were cuts in her cheek from her teeth slicing the skin.

With a painful groan, she touched the cheek. Pain shot through her skin. She filed that away under something not to be done again. Wetting a washrag, she dabbed the cool water on her face. It eased the pain just a little, just enough for her to deal with it. She hung the washrag up to dry and left the bathroom.

The brothers were no longer in the main room and the music had been turned off. It made the place almost deathly quiet. Then she heard them in the bedroom, speaking low. The door was slightly opened as she stepped up to it. Peeking inside, she could see both men standing at one side of the bed with a large array of weaponry spread out over the mattress. She watched as they checked each piece, sliding full clips into the guns and screwing on silencers.

Carefully, she pushed the door open a little wider, making the hinge creak. They both looked up as she entered the room. Julie walked up to the side of the bed opposite them and surveyed the weapons. She picked Pokey up from the pillows and held him cradled under her arm.

"Julie," Murphy began solemnly. "I think we rather ye didn't see this."

"Aye," Conner nodded. "This isn't something ye should have to worry about."

"But if I'm going to be here for a while," she argued calmly. "Then I should know a little of what's going on."

The brothers looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. Conner looked up at her as he loaded another gun. "We got word about a group of gangsters who're meeting tonight for business."

"We'd been tryin' to get these fuckers for weeks now," Murphy added, running his thumb along a knife blade to check its sharpness.

"We'll be gone for a while," Conner remarked, looking around at all the weapons. His gaze fell on a small semi-automatic handgun. Picking it up, he loaded it and held out it out to Julie butt-first. "D'ye know how ta use one of these?"

Julie nodded slowly. "My uncle taught me a little. He was a cop before he got killed in the line of duty."

Murphy looked up at her and took a drag from his cigarette. "Did they ever catch his killer?"

"No," Julie answered, taking the gun from Conner and pointing the barrel safely downward and away from her body.

Murphy shook his head disappointedly before motioning toward the gun in her hand. "You may need that in case someone tries sneaking in the place."

"We've never had a burglary attempt," Conner added. "But ye'll be here by yerself, and with our line of work there's no such thing as too careful."

The men loaded up black bags with the weapons and headed out the bedroom door. Julie followed, clutching Pokey in one hand and the gun in the other. They were slipping on coats over their holsters when she finally had enough courage to ask "What if you don't come back?"

"Well, then I guess the place is yers," Conner smirked.

"I mean it," Julie said, looking down and trying to stop the tears that were filling her eyes.

Conner hooked a finger under her chin and lifted it up so she was looking at both their faces. "We give ye our word Julie, that ye'll never truly be left alone here."

She smiled a little and Murphy's gloved hand wiped some tears from her cheek. His face didn't have its usual coyness when he asked "Could we each take a kiss fer luck?"

When she nodded, Murphy brushed his lips across her unbruised cheek and Conner gingerly planted a kiss on her forehead. As they pulled away, she realized she had taken a hand of their in each of hers. Letting her saviours walk out the door was the hardest thing she could ever remember doing.

---

Alone in the apartment, Julie was left to snoop. To keep herself from thinking terrible scenarios of the brothers getting hurt, she rifled through closets and cabinets. There were several bottles of whiskey in one of the cupboards, stocked for a rainy day no doubt. There was a bit of food in the fridge, not a lot but enough to give her some ideas. Nothing interesting in the closets. She found a scrap piece of paper in one of the bedside drawers that had an interesting prayer written on it.

Once she had turned the place nearly upside down with her idea of trying not to worry, she decided she did have the right to clean house a little. Beer cans were tossed, dishes were washed, and ashtrays were emptied. Everything short of a good vacuuming had been finished when she looked at the clock.

It was nearly nine o'clock. The brothers had been gone for hours and she was beginning to worry even more. She set up station at the table, chair pointed at the door. Pokey rested in her lap and the gun lay on the table beside her, barrel in the direction of the door. Julie sat there and watched vigilantly, trying her hardest not to fall asleep. But it wasn't working. Her eyes kept drooping and several times she had to catch her head from falling over.

She had just dosed off a little when she heard the doorknob rattling. Fear struck her almost to the point of paralysis. But she fought it back when the doorknob rattled again, then started to unlatch. She was up in a flash, feet shoulder-length apart like she had been taught, aiming down her arms and the barrel of the gun as the door swung all the way open.

_Here are the rough translations, in order, if you were wondering…_

_Sprechen Sie eine verschieden Sprache. Speak a different language._

_Meine Großmutter war deutsch. Sie unterrichtete mich gut. My grandmother was German. She taught me very well._

_Parlez-vous le francais? Do you speak French? (but you probably knew that already)_

_Bon Good._

_Une belle fille comme vous ne sait pas la langue d'amour? A beautiful girl like you doesn't know the language of love?_

_Vous comme nous vous enseigner? Would you like us to teach you?_

_Le flirt quite et laisse arrivent aux affaires. Quit flirting and lets get back to business._

_Vous ne pouvez pas reprocher a un homme l'essai. You can't blame a man for trying._

_N'oublier pas. Je l'ai vue premier. Don't forget. I saw her first._


	6. Playing Doctor

Conner and Murphy stumbled through the front door. Julie was about to let out a sigh of relief, but it caught in her throat when she realized Conner was helping his injured brother walk. She put the gun back on the table and hurried over to help him.

"Honey, we're home," Murphy grumbled as Julie swung his other arm over her shoulder. Conner still supported most of the weight, but she could tell her help eased him a bit.

"Get him on the table," Conner said gruffly.

Julie obliged, moving the gun off the table and onto the chair. Luckily the table had been one of the things she'd cleaned off while they were gone. They sat Murphy up on the table, and Julie could see the wound in his right leg. It was bleeding pretty badly. Before anyone could say anything, she grabbed either side of the hole in his jeans and ripped it bigger. Pressing her hand hard over the wound and ignoring a wincing Murphy, she turned to Conner.

"Grab a bottle of whiskey and one of the bed sheets," she ordered.

Conner nodded and did what she had said as Murphy gave a weak laugh. "Mmm, whiskey. That's just what I need."

Julie smiled up at him, but pressed harder on his wound. He grimaced and stopped laughing. Conner came back with the whiskey in hand and the sheet trailing behind him. He started tearing off strips of bed sheet as Julie unscrewed the bottle.

"Oh no, not the bedsheets," Murphy groaned playfully through clenched teeth.

"Don't worry, Murph," Conner laughed. "It's yer sheet, not mine."

Murphy hissed loudly as Julie poured some whiskey over his wound. He grabbed the bottle away from her and started drinking it. Julie had to pry it from his hands to get him to stop. "Too much might kill you."

"Aye, but it wouldn't hurt any more," Murphy retorted.

Julie started wrapping the strips of cloth around his leg, but it was tight enough. She looked around for an idea and her eyes quickly fell on Conner again.

"Give me your belt," she said hurriedly.

"Now's hardly the time to be undressing me brother," Murphy joked as Conner did what she asked.

Julie started wrapping the belt around his wound, but Murphy started to tense up in anticipation of the pain. She looked up at him sternly, "You need to relax your muscles."

Murphy shook his head. "Ye know, I don't think that kiss I took was very good luck."

"That's because you didn't kiss me right," Julie replied, leaning in a bit closer to him. "You just had to be coy and brush your lips against me cheek."

Julie moved her face close enough that her breath fell on his cheek. She stayed there for a second, until his breathing started to return to a normal rate. Then, she whispered "What you should have done was this."

She pressed her lips softly on his forehead just above his nose. In that same moment, she pulled the belt tight around his wound. Murphy screamed, his head falling back away from her. She grabbed the back of his neck to keep him from falling all the way backwards. Conner came over to cinch the belt as tightly as possible while Julie pulled Murphy back into the sitting position. He actually leaned a little further forward and glared at her.

"Evil woman," he grumbled and grabbed the bottle of whiskey again. "I'll be havin' the rest of this now."

"You've earned it," she smiled sweetly.

"Looks like the bleedin's stopped," Conner said, clapping a hand on Julie's shoulder. "Ye did a good job."

"It was only a flesh wound," she said in a mock British accent.

"Christ," Murphy grumbled around his whiskey bottle. "Not Monty Python."

Julie laughed and helped Conner pull Murphy off the table. They supported him as he hobbled to his mattress. Once he was laying down, he sat the whiskey bottle on the floor and rolled to his left side.

"We'll have to keep a watch on your leg," she told Murphy. "If you lose feeling in your feet and toes, then we have the belt too tight. For now, though, you should be okay."

Murphy nodded and closed his eyes, his face twisting in pain. It passed as Julie watched him from the foot of his mattress. Conner tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around. He was holding Pokey out for her with a smile.

"Ye dropped him," he chuckled, then stepped a bit closer. "Thanks for helpin' me brother."

"It's the least I could do," she smiled, absently putting her hand on his chest.

Conner hissed a little in pain. Julie quickly tore her hand away and saw it covered in blood.

"Fuck, Conner," she mumbled. "Take your shirt off."

"Oi," Murphy called from the mattress. "First the belt and now the shirt. That's not fair."

"Shut it, Murph," Conner laughed, pulling his shirt off. "You got one more kiss than I did."

Murphy smirked and dropped his head back to his pillow. Julie inspected the cut on Conner's chest. It wasn't bleeding as bad as Murphy's wound had been, but it was bad enough. She practically pushed him back toward the table and sat him in a chair. Then she went to the bedroom and rummaged through the bags of her things. Near the top of the second bag she found her sewing kit. Most of the dust had been knocked off of it when it was thrown into the bag, but luckily everything was still inside.

Carrying it out to the main room, she grabbed Murphy's bottle of whiskey, ignoring his protests. She sat the bottle and the sewing kit on the table next to Conner and started pulling things out. He waited there patiently as she went to the kitchen for a clean glass and returned to pour the whiskey into it. She dipped several cotton balls into the liquor and started dabbing them on Conner's wound.

"Fuck," Conner hissed. "That hurts worse than what made the wound."

"What a shame," Julie replied. "And I thought I was making things all better."

She pulled out a needle and a bit of white thread, dipping both into the glass of whiskey. Julie knew technically it would be considered unsanitary to do so since Murphy had been drinking out of the bottle, but they were brothers, and no doubt what germs one had the other had too. Once they had been completely soaked, Julie pulled the needle and thread out.

"Conner, I'm warning you now, this will hurt," she said softly, then gave him a stern look. "But if you get the idea of grabbing onto me for support, you better make it with your left hand. My one side still hurts too much for you to latch onto."

"I'll keep that in mind," he nodded and braced himself as she started to sew the wound closed.

He did well in the beginning, only wincing and groaning a little. But by the time Julie got to the last few stitches, his left hand was gripping her right hip hard. She didn't have scissors, so she tied the knot and cut the thread with her teeth. Then she patted his cheek gently.

"You're all done, Conner," she said with a smile.

He nodded grudgingly, moving his arm around to test the suture. It was good enough to hold. Not professional of course, but good enough. He looked up at her with a smirk. "Thanks."

Julie leaned in and kissed his forehead. "There, you and your brother are even."

"Hell of a bedside manner," he smirked as she helped him stand.

Murphy was out cold on his mattress, snoring gently. After helping Conner sit down, Julie went to check his leg. The bleeding had stopped and the wound was starting to clot. He whimpered in his sleep and she reached out and petted his hair. With a contented mewling sound, he nuzzled closer to his pillow.

Turning back to Conner, Julie sat beside him on his mattress. He had propped himself up against the wall, his pillow at the small of his back. Poking at his wound, he closed his eyes and winced.

"Stop that," Julie yelped, slapping the back of his hand.

Conner looked at her with a rueful smile. "Ye did a hell of a job on the both of us. D'ye have some kinda trainin'?"

"First-hand experience," she smiled back, looking away from him.

"Ye mean," Conner began, then fell silent. His hand brushed her shoulder, making her look up at him. He was staring at her face, and she imagined all the sympathy in the world was showing through his eyes. "He's hurt ye this bad before, Julie?"

"He's knocked me down before and not cared where I landed," she replied. "It's amazing the kinds of wounds you can get when you don't know what you're falling on."

Conner didn't laugh, or even crack a smile. He brought his fingertips close to her bruised cheek. "Ye'll never be hurt like that again, Julie. Me and Murph here will make sure of it."

As if on cue, Murphy gave a loud snort. Julie smiled and Conner gave a short laugh. "Whenever he gets around to wakin' up."

"You need to get some rest too, Conner," she said softly, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Murphy gave a soft moan, then smirked, grumbling "One more for me."

Julie laughed, crawling over to Murphy's mattress and planting a quick peck on the cheek. Before she could pull away, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer, rolling with her onto his back. She laughed, patting his arms good-heartedly.

"Let 'er up, Murph," Conner warned with a playful lilt. "Girl's got ta breathe, ye know."

"Ah, Conn," Murphy protested, though he smirked up at Julie. "What if I want ta leave 'er breathless?"

"Good night, Murphy," she said in a sing-song fashion as he let her go.

"Good night, sweetheart," he answered.

She stood and smiled at Conner. "Good night."

" 'Night darlin'," he replied, slipping down onto his mattress as Julie went into the bedroom.


	7. Breakfast

_A/N A big heaping thanks to wolfchick11, smite the mighty, IrishSaints, and IrishBoysareHott who have been spurring me on with their reviews :) Thanks much guys. Of course, if anyone has any questions, or any errors to point out let me know. I've lost my beta for a while sighs sadly_

---

The next morning, Julie woke up early. Not too early, only around seven or so, but it felt earlier. Her side had almost completely stopped hurting, but for a small bruise here and there. And the swelling had gone down a bit in her cheek. Pulling on a pair of jeans, she decided to sneak to the bathroom.

When she had finished, she walked back into the main room. The brothers were sleeping soundly, each one curled nearly into fetal positions on their sides. It made her smile to hear their gentle snores, all carefree and innocent. She wondered if she had ever looked so peaceful during sleep. With a soft sigh she knealed beside Murphy's mattress, lifting his tattered sheet to check his leg. It seemed to be doing okay, Murphy barely even squirmed when she touched it.

Julie wandered around a bit, before making her way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge again, she saw some eggs, bacon, and potatos. This gave her an idea. Quietly opening a cabinet and pulling out a skillet, she turned on the stove. She slapped some butter in to melt as she sliced a few of the potatos and cut them into small cubes. The bacon she ripped apart with bare fingers and set to frying around the edges of the pan.

The kitchen was starting to smell wonderful as she cracked the eggs and whisked them with a fork. Then she dumped them and the potatos into the skillet and started to prepare breakfast in earnest. There was the sound of creaking bed springs behind her, followed by shuffling footsteps and muttered Irish curses. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the brothers up and stumbling with each other over to the table.

"Didn't mean to wake you," she smiled, stirring the eggs to keep them from burning.

"The fuck ye didn't," Murphy retorted, scratching the back of his head with a yawn. "Who could sleep when something smells that good?"

Conner yawned and stretched, wincing a little at the wound on his chest. "Aye, what've ye got goin' on in there anyway? It smells like a bit o' heaven."

Julie chuckled lightly, making sure the potatos had cooked through before plating the food. She gave bigger portions to the boys as she was accustomed to, leaving just enough for herself to quell her hunger. After grabbing un-matching forks from one of the drawers, she set the steaming plates down in front of the brothers.

"Oh, fuck me," Murphy mumbled, staring in awe at the food.

Conner lifted the plate close to his face and let out a sigh. "I don't think anything this tasty-lookin' ever came out of that kitchen before."

With a giggle, Julie returned to the kitchen, hearing the brothers whispering prayers over their plates. She leaned back against the counter and stuck a fork in her food. She was poised to take a bite when one of the brothers cleared his throat.

"What're ye doin' all the way in there," Conner asked.

Murphy nodded. "There's plenty of room at the table for ye."

"I'm just," Julie began, shaking her head. "I'm just used to standing in a kitchen, is all. It's a comfort thing, I guess."

"Please, come sit with us," Murphy pleaded with his eyes.

"We won't bite," Conner promised, smirking.

Julie relented, taking her plate and sitting down between the brothers. They each smiled at her, Conner reaching up to tousle her hair as Murphy brushed his fingers over her knee. She smiled back, relaxing in their presence. With a glance to each other, both men started to dig in to their food. The first bite made Conner half-groan in pleasure.

"That's it," he declared with a smile. "You're going to have to marry one of us."

She nearly choked on her eggs before Murphy said around a mouthful of food "Or both of us."

Julie swallowed her food so she could laugh. Conner reached behind her and gave his brother a playful smack to the back of the head. "Oi, I seen 'er first."

"Aye, but I'm prettier," Murphy replied, slapping at his brother behind Julie's head.

Dropping their forks, the brothers stood and started to tussle. They tried punching each other, even though they were still laughing and arguing who would make a better husband for Julie.

"I'm better in bed," Murphy smirked, trying to get his brother in a headlock.

Conner grappled with him a moment. "Tha's not what yer last few girlfriends said."

"Children," Julie called, finally standing up. She smiled as they paused in a funny fighting tableau. "Neither of you guys would make a good husband for me."

"'N' why's that," Murphy asked with a smirk, loosening his grip on his brother's shirt.

"Because," she smirked back. "You guys are both a couple of loud-mouths with one wit between the two of you."

"Is that right," Conner asked, faking being insulted, but unable to hide the dark smile on his face. "Get 'er, Murph."

She almost squealed in fright as she turned to run, but the men were already on her. They grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her. She squirmed and laughed hard, trying to get away, but they held tight to her. Soon, they were all rolling on the floor, both brothers tickling her relentlessly, still being careful of her bruised side.

"Take it back," Conner ordered as he laughed.

Julie squirmed and twisted some more, trying to push them both away beween fits of giggling.

"Take it back, Julie," Murphy chuckled. "And we'll let ye up."

"Fine, fine," she laughed hard, finally twisting onto her belly on the floor. "You both would make great husbands for any woman."

"Especially you," Murphy urged her to add as Conner laughed.

Julie huffed a little, even as she giggle. "Especially me."

They both stopped slowly, easing her out of her laughter until they were all three laying on the floor beside each other. Conner pulled out two cigarettes, lighting both and handing one to Murphy as he smiled. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Julie gave a playful pout and smacked his shoulder, watching as Murphy made smoke rings. She laced her fingers together behind her head and leaned back on them, looking up at the ceiling. Then she realized Conner was lifting a corner of her shirt. It wasn't high enough to expose anything too awkwardly. He genlty pressed his finger to one of the bruises on her torso.

"Yer healing nicely, Julie," he remarked, pulling her shirt back down.

"So are you and Murph," she replied, still watching the ceiling.

"Did ye just call me 'Murph,'" Murphy asked, sitting up with the cigarette dangling between his lips. He didn't wait for an answer before taking the cigarette out of his mouth, blowing the smoke away from her face as he leaned over her, one hand on either side of her chest. "Well, hallelujah, Conn. She's startin' to get comfortable around us."

Conner laughed, and Julie grabbed the sides of Murphy's face gently, pulling him down closer to her. She smiled sweetly and said "Your breakfast is getting cold."

"Aye, it is," he smiled back, leaning down to kiss her forehead, before pushing onto his feet.

Conner helped her off the ground and all three returned to the table to finish their meal.


	8. Business as Usual

Later that morning, after the breakfast dishes had been done, the boys offered to take Julie out for a walk. She made them fill up black bags with dirty clothes to be cleaned. Grudgingly, the twins carried the bags down the street for the laundromat. Murphy hobbled a little behind them, grumbling curses all the way. Julie borrowed some change from Conner while the clothes were washing so she could make a phone call.

There was a payphone two buildings down from the laundromat. Without her asking, the brothers followed her to the booth. She called her two jobs and vaguely explained that she had left her house and was staying with friends. Both of her bosses knew how badly she had been treated at home, she could practically hear them smiling in relief, both promising to hold her job until she was on her feet again. With a sigh of relief, she stepped away from the phone. Conner and Murphy were leaning back against the brick wall, sunglasses hiding their eyes as they surveyed the street.

Julie smiled at them. "Well, I still have jobs when I get better."

"That's good to hear," Conner smiled back, flicking his cigarette on the ground almost in unison with his brother.

"Come on," she urged. "The clothes should be almost done."

"Go ahead without us," Murphy said darkly.

Julie cocked her head a little, smirking. "Is this a ploy to get out of helping with the folding?"

"No, Julie," Conner replied. "Murph's right. Go back to the laundromat."

Confused, she turned around. From where they were standing, she could see straight down an alley. Two large men were standing, towering over a smaller man who was kneeling on the ground. One of the bigger men reached out and slapped the small man hard enough to knock him over. Julie took an outraged step forward, but a hand on either shoulder stopped her.

"Do as we said," Murphy ordered, stepping out in front of her.

"Fuck you," she bit back, shrugging away from his hand. The tone of his voice had pissed her off whole-heartedly. "You guys aren't my father."

"No, we love ye more than he does," Conner remarked, pulling her backwards gently by the shoulder.

She looked up at him, stunned into silence for a moment. Grinding her teeth, she replied "Fine, but if you get yourselves hurt, I'll kill you."

Stomping back down the street for the laundromat, she didn't look behind her. When she got there, she was near to tears, folding the clothes neatly and shoving them into the empty bags. It was half an hour later when the brothers came waltzing back into the laundromat. Julie glared at them, still stuffing the bags.

"See, Julie," Conner smiled. "We're safe and sound."

She didn't respond, didn't even make eye contact.

"Ah, don't be like that, Julie," Murphy protested.

She put the last of the clothes into the bags and tied them all closed. Without watching, she threw one at each of the men and hoisted one over her shoulder. She could hear them shuffling behind her as she made her way back to the apartment. There was nothing but silence among them, even as they entered the main room and Julie dumped their clean clothes all over their dirty beds.

"Here, enjoy," she said cooly, walking toward the bedroom.

"Wait, Julie," Murphy called, grabbing on to her wrist.

It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but she still twisted her arm, trying to pull away. "Let me go, Murphy."

He did, looking very apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"We didn't mean to upset ye, Julie," Conner remarked, stepping closer. "But what we do isn't very pretty. I, for one, didn't want ta see ye get covered in blood. Not again."

"Me either," Murphy added, staring almost intensely at her.

Julie looked back and forth between the two of them, letting out a gentle sigh. "You're right. Your business is none of mine. Just don't try ordering me around like that again. I am so over being ordered around."

The boys smiled, nodding, and she smiled back. "Alright then, fellas. How about I make some lunch?"

"Nah, ye took care of breakfast," Conner chuckled. "Lunch is on me an' Murph."

"Aye," Murphy smirked. "But we'll have to be goin' out ta get it."

"Back in a bit," Conner said, tapping Murphy on the shoulder to have him follow.

Both men stepped over to her, planting kisses on her forehead before heading out the door.

---

Julie was sitting on the couch waiting for the twins to return when the phone rang. It startled her so much, she nearly fell to the floor. She wasn't sure if she should answer it. The last time the phone rang, the brothers had to leave to kill people. That was one point against picking up the receiver. But it kept ringing, as if the person on the other end was completely undaunted by the wait.

She lost her nerve and answered it, bringing it up to her ear. After a breath, she said simply "Hello?"

"Hello," a rumbling female voice said from the other end, thick with a familiar accent. "Who the hell is this?"

"Julie," she answered dumbly, taken aback by the other woman's blunt speech.

"Ah, so this is the Julie me dear old MacManus had been goin' on about," the woman laughed, close to a cackle. "Well, lass, how're those worthless boys a mine treatin' ye?"

Julie stumbled over her words, stuttering a bit, which drew more laughter over the phone. "Well speak up, girl. Yer not dumb, tha's fer sure. Or have I scared the shit outta ye from all the way over here in Ireland?"

"I'd go for the latter," Julie mumbled into the phone, causing another uproar of laughter.

"At least yer honest," the woman chuckled. "Tha's something me boys must be enjoyin'. Now, where are those ungrateful little pissants?"

"I sent them out for lunch," Julie giggled, picking up on the woman's disguised good-humor.

Another peal of chuckling. "Sending the boys on errands, are ye? A girl after me own heart."

Julie laughed as well, holding the receiver closer to her ear because of the static from an ocean away. "Well, I try to keep them on their toes."

"I'll bet ye do," the woman chuckled. "Those boys of mine tend to roughhouse a bit. Surely they've been takin' care not to hurt ye any more then ye 'ave been."

"They've been more than kind, ma'am," Julie assured.

"Call me Ma," the woman protested. "Everyone else in this bloody place does. Besides, me dear old husband told me he warned those boys to be treatin' ye like a sister. They haven't been makin' unwanted passes 'ave they?"

The tone in her voice made Julie laugh out loud. "I'd be lying if I said they were completely gentlemanly."

"Well, I know me boys. They won't make ye do somethin' ye ain't willin' ta do," the woman assured. "But I know they can be a handful with their flirtin'."

Julie heard the door to the apartment begin to open. An idea struck her when she saw the brothers walking in, carrying bags of groceries. She said rather loudly "I don't know, Ma. They did both propose to me over breakfast this morning."

Both men's eyes widened, nearly dropping the bags. Conner found his voice first. "Who's that on the phone?"

"It's your Ma," Julie smiled, holding out the receiver to the boys. "I think she wants a word with the both of you."

They both scrambled over, leaning their heads together so they could both hear their mother. Julie laughed hard as she started unloading the bags. The boys were trying to convince their mother that their half-hearted proposals were all in good fun. Ma's voice was so loud through the receiver, Julie could hear it in the kitchen.


	9. Tricksters

_Thanks so much for the reviews everyone! I'm so glad everyone has been pleased with the story so far. :) I'll keep up the writing if you guys keep up the reviewing! _

Julie sat at the table, drinking a soda the boys had brought home. Home. She was amazed at how quickly the dingy apartment was taking up that place in her heart. She was still giggling to herself as she listened to the brothers try to calm their mother down. Having had enough of listening to them, Julie decided to do something about it.

Setting down her can, she walked over to the boys and took the receiver from them. They looked up at her almost in awe when she said "Ma?"

The woman on the other end quieted her rambling and replied sweetly "Yes, m'dear?"

"I do believe their proposal was a joke," Julie commented flatly.

"Oh, I know dear," Ma assured with a cackled. "But this'll teach 'em to joke like tha'."

Julie smiled. "Honestly, I don't know which one I'd choose."

Both twins' jaws dropped as she looked back and forth between them. "I mean, Murphy says he's really good in bed. But Conner doesn't feel the need to boast about it, you know what I mean?"

They looked horrified, but Ma was laughing hard, spurring her on. "Give 'em hell, Julie."

"It's settled then, I guess," Julie beamed. "I'll take both. See you at the wedding! Bye Ma."

Even as she hung up the receiver, she could hear Ma laughing. The brothers looked astonished, like their whole world had just been turned upside down. Smiling sweetly, she turned away, back toward the kitchen. She could hear them stand and move toward her.

"What have ye done, Julie," Conner asked behind her. "Our Ma takes marriage very seriously."

"Aye," Murphy added, sounding distraught. "She says she wants grand babies from ye now."

Julie laughed out loud at that. "Well, then you both had better get to wooing me. We've barely made it past casual acquaintance, and I am not a one-night-stand type of girl.

She turned around, laughing evilly as she pulled down some pots and pans to make something for their late lunch. Her laughing stopped when she heard Conner's voice again.

"Well, if I'm ta marry ye, then I want what's rightfully mine."

When Julie turned to look, Conner was there, grabbing the back of her neck and crushed their lips together. She was too stunned to do anything for a moment, just let his lips cover hers as heat filled her face. It wasn't until she felt his tongue start to slide over her lips that she pulled away.

"Your Ma and I were only kidding, Conner," she said, eyes wide and breathing heavy.

"I know," he smirked darkly. "But tha's what ye get fer tryin' to pull one over on us."

"Bastard," she huffed, smacking at him.

She made contact with his chest, over his heart where the wound had been made the night before. He let out a sharp, painful hiss.

"Oh God, Conner," Julie yelped, all the anger leaving her as she pressed her hand gently over the wound. "I'm sorry."

"'S'alright, darlin'," he chuckled gently, clutching her hand to his chest. He hooked a finger under her chin and raised her face so their eyes met. "maybe next time though, ye'll not try to play such a cruel trick on me and me brother."

"How was that cruel," she protested.

"Getting' our hopes up by sayin' ye'll marry us with no real intention a doin' so," Conner scoffed. "Now what could be more cruel than tha'?

He leaned closer and kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile broadly.

"Alright, now tha's just not fair," Murphy pouted playfully, drawing attention back to himself. "That's two kisses Conner got that ye've not given me. I'm startin' to think ye like 'im more."

Julie looked up at Conner for support, but he just smiled and threw his hands up in surrender. "I've got nothin' ta do with how ye handle Murph here."

She rolled her eyes and too the two steps that put her in front of Murphy, who was leaning against the counter. He smirked down at her with a look she imagined was close to naughty expectation. Julie leaned up on her toes, putting a hand on either shoulder for balance, and softly kissed the corner of his lips. He let out something that sounded like a purr, grabbing her hips before she could pull away.

"Murphy," she warmed playfully, pulling her face away from his.

He ignored her, tilting his head and going for her neck. Julie laughed wildly as he tilted her backwards and started pummeling her neck with overly-dramatic, tickling kisses. When he'd had his fill, he pulled her back up close to his chest, nuzzling at her neck. She petted his hair, still giggling.

"Okay, back to me brother with ye," he said, letting her go with a smile. "I've taken more of ye than I probably should've."

"Oh, is that how it's gonna be," she asked, folding her arms in mock frustration as she looked from Conner's smiling face to Murphy's. "You two are going to pass me back and forth like the last cigarette in the pack?"

"Well, since ye put it that way," Conner laughed, stepping closer and kissing her forehead right above her eye. "I'd have ta say yeah."

"Except we'll be savorin' ye a wee bit more," Murphy added with a chuckle.

Julie shook her head, laughing. "Fine then, just make sure you make me last."

"Oh we will, "Murphy replied, winking as he lit two cigarettes and handed one to Conner.

"Out of the kitchen now please, boys," Julie smiled. "And I'll fix up lunch."

"Oh no," Conner said, waiving his hand. "We'll be makin' lunch since you got breakfast."

Julie folded her arms over her chest again. "Oh really? And what will you be making?"

"Conner," Murphy whispered loudly, trying to hide his lips with his hand. "What do we know how ta make?"

Conner seemed to think it over. "Spaghetti?"

"Mmm, that sounds delicious," she smiled, moving to the table. "Well, have at it boys. But please don't get any ashes in the food."

"Oi, we've been doin' this a long time," Murphy called over his shoulder, filling a pot with water and talking around his cigarette. "We won't get any ashes in yer precious food."

There was a bit more rattling around in the kitchen and she saw Conner turning on the stove.

"You do know how to boil water for the pasta, right," she asked, laughing.

"Keep it up, Julie," Conner said, feigning anger. "Maybe we won't let ye have any of our spaghetti when it's done."

Julie smiled, but quieted down as she watched them, The brothers both stood at the stove, pushing each other back and forth trying to add ingredients to the sauce. They argued which would be better to put in, garlic or salt and pepper. She got up and walked over to see if she could lend a hand in deciding. When she got over there, she tapped both of them on their shoulders and squirmed her way in between them.

She stuck her finger in and pulled it out, licking it clean. "It needs garlic."

Conner gave a triumphant snort.

"And salt and pepper," she added, smiling up at him.

Murphy stuck his chin in the air.

Julie laughed at both of them, then helped out by draining the pasta.


	10. Popcorn Queen

The spaghetti dinner was delicious. Of course, the boys couldn't help making a bit of a mess, which Julie found hilarious. Several times she found herself wanting to reach over and wipe their faces off like she was their mother. But the one time she got a stray bit of sauce on her chin, all hell broke loose.

"Murph, look at our delicate little lady over there," Conner joked. "She's gotten herself all soiled."

Julie put on a bit of a glare. "Oh, you are not going there, are you?"

"The fuck does that mean," Murphy asked, slurping some noodles into his mouth.

"Look at you little pigs," she started laughing. "You guys are practically soaked in the stuff."

"D'ye that, Murph," Conner chuckled. "We're a coupla pigs."

"Aye, I heard it," Murphy nodded, a devilish look growing on his face. "Maybe we should make her at home in the sty."

Before Julie could say anything, a huge glob of spaghetti landed on her cheek. Her mouth dropped open in astonishment. She was poised to wipe it off when another one landed on her forehead. With a yelp, she frantically wiped at her face before the sauce could get in her eyes. Huffing she looked at the twins on the other end of the table. They were laughing like mad men, close to rolling on the floor. Both had a hand that was dripping with spaghetti sauce.

They were laughing too hard to notice when she got up, plate in hand. She rounded the table to them, taking two fistfuls of spaghetti and smashing them into the tops of their heads. They stopped laughing quickly and looked up at her. She unceremoniously wiped her sauce-soaked hands across their faces to clean them off, then down the fronts of their shirts for good measure. They looked stunned themselves, which made her start to giggle.

"Oh, we'll get ye back, Julie," Conner remarked darkly, wiping his face.

Murphy nodded, licking his lips. "Aye. Ye won't know when, ye won't know how, but we'll get ye."

She patted them both on the shoulders and headed to the bathroom. Once she had successfully picked out every piece of pasta that had stuck to her hair, she rejoined the boys in the main room. They had removed their shirts and thrown them into a small pile between their mattresses. Their idea of cleaning up seemed to have involved some paper towels and hair that was not entirely free of noodles. Both boys were sitting on the couch in front of the TV, a big bowl of popcorn sitting between them. They looked up as she entered in almost frightening unison.

"Come sit with us," Conner called, picking up the popcorn from the couch.

Murphy patted the now-empty space of couch. "We're watchin' a scary movie. Ye can sit between us in case ye get frightened."

Julie rolled her eyes, but went and sat between them. She held the popcorn on her lap, feeling very comfortable on the couch with the twins beside her. It was nice and warm, and she barely even noticed that they were shirtless. They reached over every once in a while to grab a handful of popcorn, munching it absently with their eyes riveted to the screen. The movie wasn't all that exciting to Julie. She had seen a few times already, so she knew exactly when to look up at either man's face to see their expression.

There was a scene when a teenage girl was trying to escape the killer by hiding behind a police officer. The killer was unphased, walking straight up to the cowering cop and ripping his head clean off. Conner jumped as the killer started chomping on the cop's cheek. Then he gave a huff. "Blood doesn't squirt out like tha' in real life."

"Pick up the gun, you twit," Murphy yelled at the screen. "Shoot 'im in the fuckin' head while he's eatin'."

A few seconds later, the girl was being ripped apart. Murphy muttered a curse and threw popcorn at the screen. "People are always fuckin' stupid in these movies."

"Well," Conner shrugged. "If they were smart they never would have opened that coffin in that witch's tomb. And there wouldn't be a movie for us to watch, now would there?"

Julie smiled as they carried on over how stupid the movie was one moment, and then were close to covering their eyes in the next. There was a scene later when the killer had chased a group of young men into the woods. One of the kids snuck up behind the killer and ran a sharp stick through his heart. The killer turned around and ripped the boys heart out, using it as a substitute for his own.

"That was fuckin' sick," Murphy blurted out.

Conner sat cringing. "Aye. It's amazing what they'll show on cable these days."

At some point during the movie, the popcorn ran out. Murphy absently tapped the empty bowl against Julie's legs. "Julie, dear, would you mind making some more?"

Julie looked up at him, insulted. He wasn't paying attention, neither was Conner when she looked at him for support. With a cluck of her tongue, she took the bowl and got off the couch. She searched all the cabinets and found the popcorn bags, throwing one in the microwave. Hearing the boys going on about how disgusting the movie was made her giggle. When the timer dinged, she poured the popcorn into the bowl and scooped some butter in, tossing it so it would mix well.

The boys looked comfortably engrossed in the movie when she returned to the couch. So, instead of sitting between them, she decided to stretch out. Laying her legs across Murphy's lap and propping herself up on her elbow over Conner's thighs, she sat the bowl in front of her stomach. Neither brother seemed to mind much. Murphy draped his arm over her hips and Conner absently petted Julie's hair.

Murphy reached for some popcorn and stuffed his mouth with it. With his mouth still full, he said "Oi, Julie, this is some good shit."

Conner grabbed a bit and munched on it. "Christ, ye've got a knack fer makin' good food."

"It's just popcorn," she laughed, shifting forward a little for more comfort, resting her head on Conner's knees, arm dangling to the floor.

Conner ran his fingers along her back while Murphy rested his hand on the back of her thighs. Even as the boys yelled at the screen, the gentle touches started to lull her into complete relaxation. She closed her eyes and dosed for a bit, letting the brothers enjoy their movie. Conner's fingers switched to combing through her hair almost at the same time Murphy started touching the skin higher and higher up her legs. It drew a soft mewling sound from her lips as she snuggled closer to Conner's knees.

Suddenly, the idea occurred to her that they were lulling her into a false sense of security. She remembered that they had promised to get her back earlier. Tensing up, she twisted onto her back, half expecting them to tumble her off the couch. They looked innocent enough, watching the screen and not paying her any attention. But she didn't trust them. Finally, Murphy gave it away by smirking.

"I knew it," Julie blurted out, sitting up on the couch.

"Honest, we weren't plannin' anything just yet," he laughed, Conner joining in. "But it's amusin' as hell ta see ye get all scared over it."

She gave a great sigh. "I'm going to bed."

They let her get up, placing the popcorn back in her place. Conner smiled up at her. "Wir lieben Sie, Süße Julie."

Julie beamed as she walked for the bedroom door. When she got there, she turned back. "Süße Träume, meine irishen Herzen."

Before she closed the door, she could hear Murphy call playfully. "Wenn Sie erschrocken sind, kommen Sie bekomen uns. Wir werden uns Ihnen beim Bett anschließen."

Julie shook her head with a giggle.

---

_Here are the rough translations for the end._

_Wir lieben Sie, Süße Julie – We love you, sweet Julie_

_Süße Träume, meine irishen Herzen – Sweet dreams, my Irish hearts._

_Wenn Sie erschrocken sind, kommen Sie bekomen uns. Wir werden uns Ihnen beim Bett anschließen – If you get scared, come get us. We'll join you in bed._


	11. A Dash of Romance

_A/N So glad I could entertain everyone for so long :) And I'm glad everyone thinks the story is cute. I mean, I know the MacManus twins aren't all shs and giggles, but I imagine that they'd act a bit like this with a female friend. Please keep reading and reviewing, you have no idea how happy it makes me XD_

Julie woke the next morning and quietly slipped into the shower. All the bruises on her side had become that yellowish-green color that showed they were almost completely healed. She washed her face and was relieved to feel that most of the pain in her cheek was gone. There were few toiletries in the shower; soap, shampoo, and a rubber duck. She giggled and squeazed the rubber duck to make it squeak.

When she cleaned herself enough to feel human again, Julie stepped out and checked her face in the mirror. The swelling had gone down completely, and the color matched the few bruises on her side. If she were inclined to wear make-up, it would be easily coverable. But she was rarely inclined to, and there was really no need since the boys already knew how it looked. She brushed her teeth, squeazed the water out of her hair, everything that people normally do when they've taken a shower, before she realized she hadn't brought a change of clothes with her.

There was no way she was putting the dirty ones back on again, so she wrapped up in a towel and decided to sneak out of the bathroom. She started passing through the main room, trying to go unnoticed. When she reached the door, something stopped her from turning the knob. Turning around, she saw that the boys weren't on their mattresses. Confused, Julie walked over, looking around the room and in the kitchen. There was no sign of them. Then she saw a piece of paper tacked to the apartment door.

Pulling it off, she read out loud. "Went to Church. Be back at 7:30. Love, your heroes."

She smiled at the signature, wondering who had taken the time to write it. The thought dawned on her suddenly. The note said they'd be back by 7:30. By the time on the clock, it was almost nine. It worried her to no end as she went to the bedroom and got dressed. Remembering the last time she had been left alone, she went to the bedside drawer and pulled out the handgun. She slid the clip in with a gentle click.

Breakfast was a bowl of Honeycombs with the gun laying naked on the table as she ate. Afterwards, she made sure the door was locked before going to her room and pulling a book out of her jumbled bag of belongings. It was a vampire romance she had bought while out with high school friends and snuck into her house so her parents wouldn't find it. The fact that the brothers had grabbed it attested to how thorough they had been in picking up her things.

Julie brought the book out and sat in a patch of sunlight near the door, gun resting on the stand beside her. She got in a good two and a half steamy chapters before the doorknob started to jiggle. It being locked gave her an extra few tense moments to walk up to the door and check the peephole. She saw Conner and Murphy rummaging through their pockets for a key. With a sigh of relief, she unlocked the door and opened it wide.

"Welcome home," she said, pointing the barrel of the gun down and away as the boys stepped inside.

"Did something happen while we were gone," Conner asked, eyes moving from the gun to Julie's face.

She shook her head, watching them as they slipped off their rosaries and hung them on wall hooks. "I feel better with it when no one else is here."

"Is that right," Murphy said, smirking. "Well, we're home now to protect ye. So ye can put it away."

Julie fought the urge to flip him off as she returned to the bedroom and put the handgun back in the drawer. When she came back into the main room, the brothers were milling about in the kitchen, fixing themselves bowls of cereal.

"So, mind if I ask where you guys were," Julie said, leaning against the wall as she watched them.

"Just takin' care of a wee bit a business," Conner replied, looking up at her with a wink. "Nothin' dangerous, but somethin' we'd like to keep secret for a little longer."

She nodded and couldn't stop the smile that crept across her lips. Murphy walked over to where she stood and brushed his fingers across her cheek, studying it hard. "Bruise's nearly gone. And my does yer face look so much prettier without it."

Julie batted his hand away, but gave an appreciative smile. He smiled back and looked at the chair she had been sitting in while they were gone. Picking up the novel, he went back to the table and his bowl of cereal. Julie felt the face on her skin flush as he started flipping through the pages, eating his cereal while he read little snippets. Conner watched him with an amused face, as if expecting him to share. Murphy did not disappoint.

"Conner, read this," Murphy laughed around a mouthful of food.

Conner swallowed his bite and took the book from his brother. He perused the page and started chuckling. " 'She wanted him with a deep sexual hunger that made her clench her thighs around her need. All her adult life she'd longed to be with someone who could make her scream in uncontrolled completion.'"

Julie knew she was blushing terribly as both men looked up at her. Conner raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that how ye feel, Julie?"

"Scream in uncontrolled completion," Murphy laughed. "I think I could manage that if ye really wanted."

"You guys are insufferable," Julie huffed, walking over and ripping the book from Conner's hand. "Incorrigible, and just plain mean."

"Ah, we were only teasin'," Conner assured. "And seriously now, sex is great fun and all, but hardly worth writin' a whole book about when ye can go out and get laid in real life."

"I wouldn't know," Julie pouted a little, turning away and walking back to her seat by the door.

"Ye mean ta tell us," she heard Conner begin cautiously behind her.

A hand slammed down on the table, making Julie jump a little before turning around. Voice sounding almost frustrated, Murphy said "Christ fukin' sake, Julie. First ye tell us ye don't drink and don't smoke. Ye hardly ever curse. And now yer tellin' us ye've never even been with a man?"

Julie shook her head, a bit shocked. "I got kissed once by a guy in college."

"Christ," Murphy repeated, covering his face with his hand. "That's it! We're takin' ye to the pub tonight and showin' ye a good time if it kills ye."

"No, guys, really," Julie shook her head, waving her hands as if to wipe the comment away. "I appreciate the offer, but it's just not the kind of thing I'm used to doing."

"Ye gotta live a little, Julie," Conner replied, before slurping the milk from his bowl.

"Aye," Murphy added. "'N' besides, we'll be right there next ta ye."

"Yeah, drinking yourselves stupid," Julie quipped, sitting back in her reading chair.

The brothers laughed at each other a bit before Conner remarked "Ah, come on. It'll be fun. Me and Murph here'll even buy the drinks."

"I told you," Julie replied. "I'm not old enough to drink."

"No one'll card ye at the place we go," Murphy said. "Walk in with us and they'll probably give ye half yer drinks free."

"And with as pretty as ye are," Conner smirked. "There's bound ta be a nice stranger willin' ta pay for the other half."

Julie stuck her tongue out at him and both men got a kick out of it.


	12. Black Goes with Everything

After hours of the brothers pestering her, Julie finally gave in. She promised that she'd go with them to the pub and they promised they wouldn't make her drink more than one beer. The deal made, Julie was left to decide what to wear. She knew the men didn't have anything nicer than jeans and t-shirts, and she didn't need to impress them at all, but she felt like dressing up a bit. Rummaging through the black plastic bags, she wondered if they had gotten the one article of clothing she was looking for.

At the bottom of the third bag, she found it. It looked like little more than an unimposing crumple of dark green fabric as she pulled it out. But she knew for a fact that looks could be deceiving. She had gotten the dress for a St. Patrick's Day dance her senior year of high school, but her father had taken a leather belt to her back the day before, so she never got to wear it like she had wanted to. Her back was healed perfectly fine now, and she hadn't really grown much in the last two years.

Letting the silky dress slip over her, Julie realized it was a lot more revealing than she had thought before. It covered her bra well enough, falling to her knees, but a lot of her back, shoulders, and cleavage were showing. With a sigh, she figured to hell with it. It was the nicest, cleanest thing she had, and she was wearing it. She brushed on some make-up to cover the bruise on her cheek, adding a hint of eyeshadow and lipgloss. She was done with it in two minutes flat and slipped on her shoes to head into the main room.

The boys were in the kitchen, laughing and cleaning up the dishes from dinner. They didn't hear her walk in, so Julie stood there, watching them carry on. Conner was the first to glance over his shoulder, and he quite literally did a double-take. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth to keep it from falling from his dropped jaw as he turned around to get a good look at her. Without taking his eyes off her, Conner tapped his brother's shoulder to get his attention. Murphy looked at his brother confused, then followed his gaze. His eyes widened in shock.

"Ye look beautiful, Julie," Conner mused, smiling as his eyes moved up and down over her.

"Aye," Murphy nodded, giving her the same appraising look. "I don't remember seein' that dress when we grabbed yer things."

"It doesn't look like much when it's crumpled up in a ball," Julie replied, blushing as she looked at the floor.

"Well, ye make it look like heaven," Murphy smirked, brushing his fingers across her shoulder.

"Oh, even better than that," Conner argued, petting her hair affectionately. "The green reminds me of Ireland."

Julie took both their hands in hers, smiling at them. "Are you boys ready to go yet?"

"Oi, Conner," Murphy said, seeming to ignore her. "Should we be givin' her that present we got 'er?"

"Present," Julie asked, confused.

"Aye, good idea, Murph," Conner grinned, patting his brother's shoulder appreciatively.

"What are you guys talking about," she tried again.

"We got ye somethin' while we were out earlier," Conner replied, walking back over to her with a small bag in hand. He held it open so Murphy could pull out the contents. It was a black satin choker necklace with a Celtic cross dangling from it. "I think it'll make a great finishin' touch."

"Aye," Murphy agreed, smirking as he moved behind her.

"Oh boys," Julie said softly, a little stunned. "It's beautiful, but really, I couldn't."

"A course ye could," Conner chided gently, reaching over her shoulders to gather up her hair as Murphy started to put the necklace on her. "It looks good on ye."

"It's a reward, really," Murphy laughed, clasping the necklace in place. "Ye've put up with us two fer a while now. Ye deserve it."

Murphy's fingers brushed over her bare shoulders before he planted a kiss on the back of her neck. Julie shivered and giggled as Conner let her hair go so that it fell in Murphy's face. She looked up at Conner, who brushed his fingertips barely over her neck and leaned down to kiss her forehead. With a smirk, she wrapped her fingers in the front of Conner's shirt, then turned so she could do the same thing to Murphy's. Both men looked at her amused as she leaned over and kissed each of their cheeks in turn.

"Come on, boys," she chuckled, tugging them along. "You promised to show me a good time. And I'm anxious to see what you had in mind."

"We could stay in and have an even better time," Murphy offered, raising an eyebrow.

Conner reached up and smacked him in the back of the head. "Why d'ye always have to say things like tha?"

"Ah, ye know ye were thinkin' it," Murphy remarked, shoving him a little.

"Aye, I was," Conner answered. "But tha' doesn't mean I'm gonna say it."

Julie was laughing so hard, she thought she would fall over. "I love how you guys think you could actually get me in bed. It's so cute."

"The fuck is that supposed ta mean," Murphy smirked.

"It means get a move on," Julie smiled. "You guys got me in the mood to go out, and now you're taking forever."

"Ah, so pesterin' ye for hours puts ye in the mood ta do somethin', eh," Conner grinned darkly. "We'll have ta keep that in mind."

"Come on," Julie pouted, tugging at their hands. "If I look as pretty as you guys said, then I want other people to see me, too."

"Well, in that case," Murphy replied. "I think maybe we should stay home."

Julie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Alright then," Conner sighed playfully. "One more kiss for each of us, then we'll be goin'. And ye can go flirtin' with any lucky guy that strikes yer fancy."

Julie beamed, rushing up to Murphy and throwing her arms around his neck. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, Murphy was wiping his cheek off, grumbling. "Alright, get off me. If ye want some other guy, ye should save yer kisses for him."

She giggled and latched onto Conner, kissing his opposite cheek. He chuckled a little, then held her out at arm's length, shaking an authoritative finger at her. "Now, when we go out, ye have ta play nice with the boys. No fightin', no roughhousin', no name-callin'. And I won't have ye bringin' home any boys that have any piercin's or ponytails."

"Yes, sir," she grinned, playing along.

"Alright then," he smiled, tousling her hair. "There's a good lass. Now let's get goin'."

Murphy rolled his eyes, which made Julie laugh. She took his cheeks in her hands, kissing his forehead. "Don't worry, Murphy. I promise not to bring anyone home. You two boys are enough for me."

Murphy smirked, draping his arm over her shoulders as Conner wrapped his arm around her waist, all three heading for the door.


	13. Just like Old Uncle Civial

The pub was everything Julie ever imagined. There was weak light concentrated over each individual table as well as the bar. A thick fog of cigarette smoke hung in the air. It was intimate without being crowded. Cozy and familiar, though she'd never been in there before. Obviously the brothers had been a time or two. The second all three stepped in, a cheer went up in the crowd around the bar. Several glasses were raised and a few shouts of "Conner," "Murphy," and "Little bastards" were heard.

Murphy made a show of it, throwing his hands in the air and bowing like he was the main attraction. Conner just laughed and patted a few people on the shoulder, picking up a glass of dark beer that had been put on the counter before him. A waitress passed by Murphy, giving him a coy smile. Julie laughed when she saw Murphy's eyes follow the girl until she was out of sight. Conner came back over to Julie, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to the bar.

"'Ey, fellas," he said, smiling at everyone. "This 'ere's Julie. She's a friend of me and Murph."

"What's a pretty girl like you doin' with these two losers," a man asked further down the bar with a smile.

"Someone's gotta keep us in line," Murphy replied, coming up on her other side.

Between the two men, Julie felt comfortable, even while they spoke gruffly with people she didn't know. She leaned against the bar, prepared to slide onto a stool when Conner stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh no," he smiled, shaking his head. "We're not havin' ye up here with these bastards."

"Right," Murphy grinned. "We're takin' ye to the back, where it's more comfortable."

"And I'm sure that the barmaids back there have nothing to do with it," Julie raised an eyebrow.

Murphy's expression was sheepish as he pulled her off the stool. He grabbed one glass of the same stuff Conner had, while Conner had his glass and a bottle of light beer. They led her to one of the booths in the back that faced the whole pub. She was slid between the two with enough room so that she didn't feel crowded. Both men lit cigarettes, placing the ashtray between the two of them and the bottle of beer in front of Julie. She eyed it wearily, making Conner laugh.

"It's not gonna bite ye, Julie," he snickered, opening it up for her.

Murphy nodded. "Aye, it's not 'til the tenth or eleventh that ye really start ta feel it."

Julie took the bottle in her hand, still leery of taking the first sip.

"Are ye scared, Julie," Murphy teased, leaning in close, eyes darting from her to Conner's amused face.

"Has a wee bit a drink got ye shakin' in yer boots," Conner prodded, leaning in as well.

Julie looked back and forth between them, a slow smile crossing her face. "Fuck you guys."

She put the bottle to her lips and took a long drink. Both men let out shouts of amusement and approval, laughing hard. Conner put a hand on the bottle to keep Julie from drinking it all down in one shot. "Easy there, lass. Don't want ye ta get sick on us."

Murphy turned and grabbed the waitress's hand as she passed by. She stopped, giving him a smirk, leaning over to hear what he had wanted. "I think our friend here is goin' ta need a few more bottles a beer."

The barmaid nodded, glancing up at Julie. "Friend?"

"When d'ye get off work," he asked with a devious smile. His voice had become so dark and sensual that it took everything Julie had not to laugh out loud and ruin the moment.

The barmaid looked from his face, to Conner, then back again with that same coy smirk. "My friend and I are off in an hour."

She pointed beyond the table to another barmaid, equally sexy looking with an equally coy smile. Murphy brushed his fingers over the nearest barmaid's arm. "Then I guess ye two'll be joinin' me and me brother for a drink in an hour."

Conner leaned over and whispered in Julie's ear "Just like our Uncle Civial, always tryin' ta get up the waitresses' skirt."

"Should we find another girl to entertain your friend," the waitress said, giving Julie a cruel smile.

Both brothers gave Julie a shocked look, but she just smiled, raising her bottle to say "No thanks. But I wouldn't mind one of your regular customers. Let him know I charge more though."

The waitress's face went red with anger and she stormed off.

"Oh, that was mean of ye, Julie," Conner laughed, slapping a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry if I cost you guys a good night," she said ruefully, taking another sip of beer.

"Ah, they'll be here in an hour," Murphy assured.

"What makes you so sure," Julie asked.

"Murph here fancies himself a ladies' man," Conner answered, flicking ashes into the tray and blowing smoke away from her. "He's of the idea that if something is female, it'll be drawn to 'im."

"Oh, so that explains the bitches," Julie nodded, trying to keep her face straight.

"Oh, yeah, laugh it up now. But in an hour, those two women will be over here. One for me," Murphy said, pointing at his brother with a smile. "And one for you."

"I hardly need ye findin' me willin' women, brother," Conner laughed. "Besides, what's Julie supposed ta do while we're entertainin' the other girls?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, fellas," she said, waiving her hand. "Just get me another beer and I'll entertain myself."

Murphy's cracked a smirk. "My, does that sound like fun."

"Well," Julie began, pretending to think it over. "I'm sure I could entertain myself for hours if your girlfriend would let me borrow her strap-on."

Murphy's face could hardly contain his laughter, and he finally let it out in a loud peel. Conner shook his head at her with a twinge of a smile. "You're startin' ta get a bit of a filthy mouth there, Julie."

"I'm sorry," she replied, blushing a little. "I caught it from Murphy."

"Oh, have ye now," Murphy scoffed, grabbing her chin and pulling her face close to his. "Then I guess ye should be givin' it back."

He covered her mouth with his, taking a second to suck gently on her lips. His head turned as if to deepen the kiss, but Conner put a hand on Murphy's chest and gently pushed him away from Julie, laughing. "Alright, Romeo. That'll be enough out of ye."

Julie took a few seconds to relearn how to breathe, to let her flushed face return to normal. While she looked still a little stunned, Murphy was all smugness as he leaned back against the seat. "Yer just jealous that I get all the best kisses from 'er."

"I don't know, Murphy," Julie smiled, shaking her head a tad. "That one in the kitchen the other day was pretty good."

"Didn't look like much," Murphy retorted, looking almost wounded.

Conner's lips were near her ear, his chin resting on her shoulder as he smiled and said "Should we give 'im a re-enactment, Julie?"

She tilted her head to look at him, and in that second he was kissing her. Even the awkward way her neck was twisted didn't take away from the tingle that went up her spine as his fingertips trailed down her neck and over the Celtic cross at her throat. Suppressing the gentle moan that was trying to escape her lips, she pulled away, breathing heavy.

"Oh, you boys are gonna have to start cooling it with that stuff," she whispered, fanning her flushed face with her hand. "Or one of these days I'm gonna grab a random one of you and drag you to bed."

It was Conner's turn to look smug as Murphy sat up and grumbled something about him still having better kisses. Julie leaned over to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and shoulders. He tensed a little as she leaned in and nuzzled her lips and nose to his temple. Then, Murphy slid his hand around her waist and pressed closer into her.

"Don't worry, Murph," she whispered playfully. "I won't take Conner to bed without taking you, too."

He laughed a little, letting her pull away to sit between them again. As she started to sip her beer again, she felt two hands, one from either side, snake their way a little up her skirt to rest gently on either thigh.

**A/N Did I mention how much I like reviews? You know who else likes reviews? Conner and Murphy MacManus, that's who. So please, make me and them smile simply by dropping by that little purple button on the left and leaving a comment, anything, whether you like it or hate it. Remember though, the MacManus twins own guns and they hate being flamed too harshly ;)**


	14. 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Murphy had been wrong. An hour later, the two waitresses had not showed back up at the table. It took an hour and a half before the girls came around. They each took a brother, sliding onto their laps and giving them suggestive smiles. Julie was caught in the middle still. She got jabbed in the side by a high-heeled foot, and the girl who she had insulted earlier gave a half-hearted apology.

The boys seemed thoroughly entertained by the new-comers, leaving Julie alone to watch the rest of the pub. Everyone seemed in good spirits, maybe even a few people well-pleased with themselves and their company. She noticed another small group of people walking in, followed by a familiar-looking man wearing a jean jacket who took a seat at a table near the bar. Julie sipped at her second or third beer. She wasn't sure which only because there were several bottles on the table and she didn't know which had been hers.

The bottle in her hand was nearly empty and she really wanted another one. The waitresses that had taken over the latest shift were closer to the front where the newer people had come in. Julie didn't want to shout for any of them, so she decided she was going to go up to the bar herself. She turned to one side only to find Murphy whispering into one barmaid's ear. Turning the other way, she saw Conner lighting a cigarette only to have the other barmaid pluck it from his lips to take a drag.

Julie rolled her eyes and looked under the table. The floor was one of the filthiest she'd ever seen, which left only one choice. With a groan of frustration, she slid her knees onto the bench and got to her feet, stepping up onto the table.

"Where ye think yer goin'," she heard Conner chuckle once she was standing up there.

She looked down smiling at him. "Gonna go get me another beer."

Murphy laughed and tilted his head to try looking up her skirt, but the barmaid tugged his face back to hers. Julie chuckled and hopped onto the floor on the other side of the table, finally free from between the two boys and their new "friends." She stretched her legs a little, both a bit sore from having sat for such a long time without really moving. The trek to the bar was short-lived, but welcomed, even though she could feel the eyes of the brothers upon her back like a comforting touch. The bartender was helping another customer, so she stood patiently waiting for him.

She heard a bit of shuffling behind her at one of the tables, then a woman's voice grunting in frustration. "Let me go."

Julie turned around and saw the man in the jean jacket grasping a waitress's wrist. The woman was struggling to get away, but the man was not giving up. "Come on, baby. You know you want some of this."

"Hardly," the woman practically spat.

The man's face turned red with anger, and he tugged on her arm harder, making her wince. "Well, I want you. And I always get what I want."

He tried pulling her onto his lap. Julie watched appalled, eyes darting to the people closest to the scene who were ignoring it. Outraged by their lack of interest in someone else's distress, Julie took it upon herself to step over.

"Excuse me," she said cautiously to the man. "But I think she said to let her go."

"Who asked you," the man grunted, looking up at Julie, still tugging on the girl. Her eyes looked up to Julie, almost pleading.

"Let her go," Julie tried again, voice harsher this time.

"Why," the man asked, giving a cruel grin as he stood up, never releasing the girl. "You want some of me. I have plenty to go around."

Julie looked him up and down, smirking. "I highly doubt that."

Without warning, he backhanded her, hard enough to send her spinning half a turn. She stumbled a bit, but never hit the ground. She had been hit much worse before, and this hardly even phased her. In fact, it pissed her off more than anything. So far removed from the pain and humiliation of a daily beating, the idea that someone thought they had a right to hurt her or anyone else made her blood boil. Without thought, she spun back around, bringing her empty beer bottle down hard across the man's face.

Julie had been hit by a beer bottle or two before, and she knew they didn't break in real life like the movies always showed. So she was surprised as hell when the glass shattered against the man's face, embedding shards into his skin. He fell to one knee on the floor and Julie came up behind him, grabbing a fistful of hair and pressing the jagged end of the broken bottle neck against his throat.

"You'll think twice about touching another woman again, won't you," she whispered harshly, tugging his head back for emphasis.

His eyes were fearful as he looked up at her and gave a slight nod. Julie sneered and threw his head forward so that he landed on his hands in the shattered glass.

"Now get the fuck out of here," she spat, kicking him hard in the ass to get him started.

He scrambled on his hands and knees for the door, not daring to look back. Julie heard footsteps coming up quickly behind her. She spun, still brandishing the bottle neck like a weapon. Conner and Murphy stopped short of reaching her, their hands in the air defensively.

"Whoa there, Julie," Conner said soothingly, not stepping any closer.

Julie realized she had been breathing heavily. She took a deep breath and lowered the make-shift weapon to her side. Looking around, she noticed that everyone was staring at her, some looking concerned, others with approving smirks on their faces. She began to blush when the assaulted waitress came up and gently took the broken bottle neck from her hand.

"Thank you," the woman said quietly, brushing her fingers against Julie's shoulder before rushing off to a back room behind the bar. Another waitress came up and started to sweep up the glass shards on the ground.

Julie looked up at the two brothers, everything silent for a few moments. Then, Murphy started to smirk. "I can't believe ye just fuckin' did that."

She started to chuckled, and it broke the ice. Murphy came up, wrapping his arms around her, then turning with her, presenting her to the rest of the pub while shouting "I fuckin' love this girl."

Julie gave a yelp when she felt someone come up behind her and lift her off the ground. Looking down, she saw Conner hoisting her onto his shoulder with his own playful shout. "Ah, fuck ye, Murph. There's no way ye love 'er as much as I do."

Conner started turning her around while the whole pub cheered for her. Julie laughed wildly, trying to keep her balance on Conner's shoulder. Then Murphy came up, holding his arms up to her. She hopped down off Conner into Murphy's embrace.

"That was beautiful, Julie," he whispered against her cheek, smiling and hugging her.

Conner grabbed her away from his brother, hugging her from behind and laughing against the side of her throat. "Ye did good, Julie. Real good."

She giggled, Conner's lips tickling her skin. "Alright, boys, the show's over. You can go back to your girls now."

Murphy looked back over his shoulder, and Julie could see that their table was empty. "I think the girls've gone."

Julie started to apologize, but Conner gave a chuckle. "Who can blame 'em? I mean, tryin' to compete with Julie here isn't all that easy."

"Oh come on," Julie laughed, pushing Conner away playfully. "I still need to get that beer."

"Ah, no," Murphy smiled, shaking his head. "I think ye've graduated to the harder stuff, now."

Conner grabbed three shot glasses while Murphy ordered a bottle of whiskey, both leading Julie back to the table.


	15. A Taste of Cigarettes and Alcohol

Julie downed another shot of whiskey, only half realizing that it didn't burn any more. Her throat had become a little numb from the inside out, and the liquor only caused a warm, gentle queasiness in her stomach. She was sitting sideways in Conner's lap, one arm slung around his shoulders to keep her from falling off. One of his hands was holding onto her hip to stabilize her, especially when she slammed the shot glass down on the table hard enough that she nearly tipped over. It drew a slight giggle from her, which made Conner chuckle.

He took a drag from his cigarette as she tried pouring more whiskey into her glass. She failed sloshed most of the liquor onto the table, but managed to fill her class enough to satisfy her. Another little chuckle and Conner reached out putting the shot glass back on the table before she could drink any more.

"Hey," she slurred a little, giving him a questioning look.

"I think ye've 'ad enough, Julie-girl," he smiled up at her, even though his voice was sounding a bit slow as well.

"You think I'm… I'm," Julie giggled a little, trying to think. "Drunk?"

"I know yer drunk," he replied, pulling her up tighter against him when she nearly tumbled out of his lap.

"Ein mehr Getränk, und werde ich Sie ausnutzen," Murphy mumbled.

He was laying back on the bench, one arm draped over his face as if to shield his eyes from the dim light bulb. Sitting up, he gave Julie a playful smirk.

Her brow furrowed in frustration. "English, Murph. I can't think to translate."

"He said ye've had enough," Conner replied with a smile.

In a split second of clarity, Julie sighed. "I'm going to be sick tomorrow, aren't I?"

"Probably," Murphy answered, reaching over to fill his shot glass again. "But we'll be there ta hold yer hair back while ye toss yer cookies."

A slow, sleepy smile spread Julie's lips as she wrapped her arms around Conner's neck, grinning up at him. "I love you guys."

"Do ye now," Conner smiled back, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth.

She pressed her face close to his neck, sighing against his skin. "I really wish I could marry both of you guys."

A small laugh escaped her as she pulled her face away to look him in the eye. She laughed a little harder when she saw his confused expression.

"Then again," she said, almost snorting in laughter. "You guys would probably fight over who gets me first on the wedding night."

Conner grinned at her, and she realized that he was probably a bit more than tipsy. "I should hope it'd be me."

"And why's that," she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

"'Cause I seen ye first," he replied as though the fact alone meant he had laid claim to her.

Julie loved the idea so much that she plucked the cigarette from his lips and kissed him hard. She felt one hand slide up her back to hold her closer while the other one slid under her skirt. The tip of his tongue licked across her lips and she opened up for him. He tasted all over the inside of her mouth, making her breathing become more labored and a soft moan escape her throat. It finally became too much and she had to pull away to breathe. Conner's chest heaved as he looked down at her, corners of his lips tilting up in a smile. With a grin, she put the cigarette back in his mouth.

She turned to see Murphy sitting there, trying not to look in her direction. Julie crawled across the bench toward him. He gave her a gentle smirk when she stopped to kneel beside him. She ran her fingers gently through his hair, turning his face to hers. Her lips brushed against his and he grabbed her waist, pulling her over to straddle his lap. She went easily enough, letting him kiss her the way Conner had. His hands roamed a bit more, both sliding up her bare thighs to hold her hips as he kissed harder. She moaned again, but Murphy wasn't quite as relenting as his brother. Julie had to physically push him back from her so that she could breathe again.

She laughed gently, sliding off of Murphy's lap to sit on the bench in between both brothers again. Crossing her arms, she laid them on the table, leaning her head down, licking her lips to savor the taste of both men.

---

The next morning, Julie woke up feeling very warm and groggy. She tried turning over to go back to sleep, but something stopped her. Opening her eyes, she saw the top of Murphy's head. It woke her up enough to realize that he was nestled against her, head tucked under her chin as his arms clung to her torso. One of her legs was draped over his hip, bringing his whole body very close to hers.

A second later, she was even more awake, noticing that there was a distinct feel of someone nuzzled up behind her, face buried in the curve of her neck. She realized it must have been Conner whose chest was pressed solid against her back, arms wrapped around her waist so that he too was molded around her. She was too shocked to move for a moment, just letting herself feel the soft, even breathing of the brothers against her skin. For a moment, she wondered if anything had happened between the three of them. But nothing felt sore or out of place, except for the slight headache she was beginning to notice.

She tilted her head up to see that the boys were in nothing but boxers and she had somehow become dressless, wearing only her bra and panties. A thin sheet covered all three bodies on one of the boys' mattresses; Julie couldn't move enough to tell which one. She forced herself to close her eyes again and settle back down. Being surrounded by the twins wasn't exactly a bad thing. For starters, it was keeping her very toasty warm and the feel of their bare skin pressed to hers made her feel… She took a second, trying to think of the right word; wanted, accepted, loved. That was it. It made her feel loved. But it also made her feel self-conscious. There were countless scars all over her body from the beatings she had taken. She worried that they had disgusted the boys when they had seen them.

Reconciling herself to her fate, Julie tried to will herself back to sleep. As she laid there, she felt Conner stir behind her, brushing his lips against her neck. It made her tingle, but she let it pass. A moment later, Murphy started to make a mewling sound against her chest, pressing himself closer. She stifled a laugh so that she didn't wake either of them.

Her fingers wound into Murphy's hair as she nuzzled her face against the top of his head, making herself more comfortable. Her knee raised higher on his hip, and Conner's sleeping body adjusted so that it didn't lose contact with hers. It brought all three bodies just a little closer together. Eyes fluttering closed, Julie was able to fall back to sleep.

---

_Here's the real rough translation…_

_Ein mehr Getränk, und werde ich Sie ausnutzen – One more drink, and I will take advantage of you._

_**A/N Reviews are love, people. And love is rewarded by the Sith with return reviews and double chocolate brownies ;)**_


	16. Coffee

When Julie's eyes opened next, she found herself alone on the mattress. Something told her that it was much later in the day. She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her and yawning.

"Well, if it isn't Sleepin' Beauty," she heard Connor say.

Lookin up through bleary eyes, she caught sight of him and Murphy sitting at the table. Each had a mug with steam rising out of it, what she could only assume was coffee. Both were fully dressed in jeans and t-shirts, even with belts and boots on, smoking and watching her as she sat there. Julie just scratched the back of her head and yawned.

"Ye feelin' okay," Murphy asked, and she smiled up at the twinge of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she answered. "I had a headache earlier when I woke up. Must have slept it off."

"Ye were up earlier," Connor asked, his voice pure curiosity.

"Yep," Julie nodded, pulling the sheet tighter around her as she gave a smile. "You two were latched onto me, so I couldn't get up."

"Connor does tend ta get a bit clingy when he sleeps," Murphy joked.

"Aye, well," Connor retorted, taking a drag from his cigarette. "At least I wasn't at 'er chest like a sucklin' babe."

Murphy chuckled, pulling the cigarete away from his lips to take a drink from the mug. Julie stood, clutching the sheet and scanning the floor for her dress. It was sitting on top of a pile of the brothers' dirty clothes at the end of the mattress. She literally wanted to turn her nose up at it, but instead she just sighed and walked over to the table wearing nothing but her undergarments and Connor's bedsheet.

"Ye want some coffee," Connor asked, giving her a gentle smile.

She shook her head, licking her dry lips. "No, I don't drink the stuff."

"That's what ye said about liquor," Murphy grinned. "And look what happened last night."

Julie took a second to try remembering. She could flashed on the waitresses Murphy had picked up, then the man who had slapped her. Things got a bit fuzzy until she remembered what she had done. A blush started to creep up her face, and she couldn't look the men in the eye.

"Aye, tha's it," Murphy snickered. "Rememberin' now, are ye?"

She bit her lower lip as she kept her eyes on the table. The image of kissing the two men without a care in the world except to enjoy the taste of them made her cringe.

"It's alright, Julie," Connor soothed. "Ye were drunk fer the first time last night. People do things when they're drunk."

"But what you did," Murphy smirked, shaking his head with amusement. "Well, that makes me think ye should start comin' ta Church with us."

"I didn't really mean anything," she pleaded, looking back and forth between them, feeling lost. "I mean, you guys kiss me all the time… And I just wanted…"

Julie sighed, leaning her elbows on the table and holding her forehead in her hands. "Besides, I don't need to go to church. You guys have got enough religious stuff on you, I could get down on my knees and start praying for forgiveness right here."

She heard Murphy start to laugh. It made her smile, knowing he was still acting a bit immature. Looking up, she saw the slight grin she had come to expect from Connor. With a sigh of relief, she realized that nothing had really changed between them.

"Ye know, if ye want, ye could start prayin' fer fergiveness right now," Murphy winked.

"Ah, go fuck yourselves," Julie replied, smiling when she heard them laugh. "Which reminds me, which one of you two took my dress off of me last night?"

She looked up at Murphy first, but his eyes darted toward Connor. Jaw dropping a bit, Julie looked at Connor to find him blushing just a little. He wouldn't look her in the eye and she laughed hard.

"I'm surprised at you, Connor," she giggled.

"It was all I could do ta keep 'im off ye," Murphy grinned, giving his brother a shove.

Connor smacked the back of his head. "Shut it, Murph."

Julie nearly fell on the floor laughing. She covered her face with her hands and tried to supress the sound. When she had finally got it under control, she looked back up at the brothers who smiling at her fondly.

"It's alright guys," she grinned. "Just hope all the scars didn't creep you out."

Their smiles faded in unison. It surprised her, and she started to ask what was wrong before she realized what she had done. Mentioning anything that involved her being beaten always garnered upset expressions from the boys. She licked her lips, giving a soft sigh.

"I love you guys," she said softly, looking at the table.

Murphy smirked a little. "Ye said that last night."

"You know what I mean," Julie replied, giving him a slight glare.

"Aye, we do," Connor replied.

It was quiet for a while. The brothers sipped their coffee silently, smoking and flicking their ashes in the big tray. Julie sat there, wondering if she could eat anything. But every time she started to think about food it made her stomach feel queasy. That crossed breakfast off her list. She sighed again and looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the pile of clothes with her dress on top.

"I guess I should go get the laundry done again," she said absently, scratching the back of her head.

"Ah, leave 'em 'til tomorrow," Murphy replied, putting out the butt of his cigarette.

"Aye," Connor nodded in agreement. "The rest of the day should be spent lazin' around the apartment. Besides, we'll be leavin' ye alone here tomorrow. It'll give ye something ta do while we're gone."

"You'll be gone tomorrow," Julie asked, looking up at them.

"We have some business ta tend to," Murphy answered, emptying his mug.

Julie nodded. "Will you be gone long?"

"'Til tomorrow evenin'," Connor replied.

"Oh," Julie remarked softly, already not liking the idea of being alone. She pulled the bed sheet tighter to her, standing up slowly. "I'm gonna go get dressed."

"No need ta hurry," Murphy smirked, watching her walk toward the bedroom.

Julie stopped and looked back at him. "Really? Now, Murphy, if you want me to flash you, just say so."

"Would ye flash me, please, Julie," he asked, and she could barely tell that he was joking.

"I don't think so," she smiled, her eyes turning to Connor who was watching her intently. "You wanna try, Connor?"

He raised his hands in surrender, giving her his lopsided grin. "And get shot down like me poor brother? I think I'd rather not."

"Good," Julie nodded with a chuckle, finishing her walk to the bedroom.

_A/N: Happy Halloween! And All Saints Day! Please review, I'll love you forever!_


	17. Boys will be Boys

Julie discovered that the brothers' mattresses were really the best place to do any reading in the whole apartment. They had enough light to see, but not so much that it would cause a glare. She doubted the men appreciated it that much, but she did. She was lounging on Connor's mattress, reading her romance novel, when she heard Murphy laugh.

"Still readin' that shite, are ye," he asked.

Julie looked up and saw him standing near the end of the mattress, beer in hand as he handed another to his brother. Connor was looking at her over the back of the couch, smiling as he opened his can of beer.

"It keeps me entertained," she smiled back, looking down at the page again.

"Well, if ye still want to scream in uncontrolled completion," Murphy remarked casually, making her look up again. "Then I'm always happy to oblige."

"Aw, Murph," she cooed, trying to hide the blushing she was doing. "If you want to join me in bed, there's plenty of room. You might have to snuggle in close, but you'll fit."

Murphy smirked, taking a step toward the mattress. Connor reached up and grabbed the back of his brother's shirt, pulling him backwards over the couch. It was all Murphy could do to keep his beer from spilling as he was hauled upside down into the seat beside Connor. Julie couldn't keep from laugh.

"She was just teasin' ye, fuckwit," Connor said while shaking his head.

Murphy let his feet dangle over the back of the couch. "Aye. She's an evil woman."

"Besides," Connor continued, looking back to give Julie a wink. "If any one'll be havin' Julie on me bed, it'll be me."

Julie covered her mouth, trying to stifle the giggle in her throat. She couldn't hold it back, especially hearing Murphy start to protest the remark as he twisted on the couch to sit up properly. Doubling over on the bed, she rolled a little, ending up on her back with her head fallen off the side of the mattress. She opened her eyes once she had finished laughing, seeing the world upside down with the boys grinning at her.

"Are we entertainin' ye now, then," Murphy asked.

"Indeed," she smiled, still not changing positions.

Connor's smile faded a bit and he shook his head. "Yer just too damned sexy sometimes, Julie girl."

"What," she asked confused, rolling on to her stomach finally.

"Didn't anyone ever tell ye just how pretty a girl ye are, Julie," Murphy remarked, all seriousness.

"No," Julie answered softly, feeling very self-conscious as she brought her knees up to her chest to hide herself. "I was always told I was ugly."

"Aye, well they're a right bunch a liars," Connor replied. "Yer a damned fine-lookin' woman. Surprised ye ain't got a whole line a men outside our door."

She laughed nervously. "You guys are nuts."

"Ah, come off it," Connor scoffed. "Ye know ye'd make a great catch. Yer pretty, sweet, funny, and ye can cook. What more could a man want?"

"We'd snatch ye up ourselves," Murphy added with a smirk. "But it wouldn't be fair to ole Connor 'ere all the time ye'd be spendin' with me in bed."

"Why do I have ta keep tellin' ye that I seen 'er first, which means I get 'er first," Connor reprimanded playfully. "Besides, I'm the oldest so I get first dibs."

"The fuck yer the oldest," Murphy retorted, shoving his brother. "I know I came out first because yer face looks so much like me arse."

Connor practically tackled Murphy backwards onto the couch, both rolling down to the floor, punching at each other and grunting in frustration as they fought. Julie stood and came around the side of the couch to see what was going on. Worried that they might actually hurt each other, she reached down to separate them. She grabbed hold of Murphy's shirt, but the boys rolled, sending her off balance. With a yelp, she hit the floor on her rear beside the tustling men.

"Are ye alright, Julie," Connor asked, quickly letting go of his brother to kneel beside her. Murphy joined them, giving Julie a quick once over.

Julie started laughing hard, pushing each brother backwards onto the floor. "I'm not a china-doll boys. I can take a tumble and survive."

The men both laughed, setting themselves straight beside her. She leaned in and gave each a kiss on the cheek. Connor stroked her hair back from her face as Murphy laced his fingers with hers. There were a few smiling moments before the phone rang, making each of them jump a little. Murphy raised an eyebrow at his brother. Connor leaned back and picked up the receiver.

"'Ello," he asked cautiously. There was a pause, then Connor smiled. "Da! How've ye been?"

"Give it 'ere, Connor," Murphy said, nearly crawling over Julie to grab the phone. He pressed his head against his brother's so both could hear their father. Julie had the feeling that they had done it many times before. She sat there silently, watching as they both tried to grab the phone to their ear.

"We've 'ad a few jobs," Murphy answered an unheard question cautiously. Another pause, then Connor looked up at her. "Oh, she's fine Da."

Both boys sat up and Connor held the phone out to Julie. "Da wants ta speak with ye."

A little surprised, she reached out and took the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, Julie dear," the older Irishman's voice said over the phone. "How've me boys been treatin' ye?"

"They've been nothing but sweet and kind, sir," Julie smiled, looking over at the brothers."

"Ah, don't go "sir"-in' me now," he chuckled. "Ye can call me Da like everyone else."

Julie smiled at the receiver. "Are all Irish people so nice?"

"Well, we try," Da replied. "Now, ye say the boys've been behavin' themselves with ye?"

"Yes," she answered, nodding even though he couldn't see her.

"And they haven't taken ye out and gotten ye drunk yet," he asked suspiciously.

"Well," she began, starting to blush.

"Ah, I knew it," he tsked. "Sullyin' a pretty young girl like yerself. Those boys'll be due for a hide-tannin' when I get back."

"Do you know when you'll be coming back," she asked sweetly, trying to change the subject.

"It'll be a while yet," he replied. "The missus and I are havin' a grand time gettin' reacquainted."

Julie laughed. "Alright then. Give Ma my best."

The brothers crowded around her, pulling the phone from her hand as she laughed.

"Da, tell Ma we said we love 'er," Connor said into the receiver.

"Aye," Murphy added. "And tell the rest of the family that they best be keepin' themselves out a trouble."

They said their good-byes, smiling before they hung up. Julie was still giggling at them when they looked up at her.

"Your father says that he's going to tan your hides for taking me out drinking," she laughed.

"Oh, and did ye tell 'im what ye did when ye were drunk," Murphy smirked, crawling over to kiss her forehead and plop down on the floor beside her.

"That's really none of his concern, now is it," she replied as Connor came up on her other side.

"Aye, nothin' ta concern 'im," Connor grinned. "Just a wanton woman throwin' herself at us is all."

"I am not wanton," Julie scoffed, slapping his leg before standing.

Both men laughed and she rolled her eyes, standing up. "I'm gonna order some pizza."

"Uh-oh, Connor," Murphy laughed. "Sounds like the beginnin's of a porno to me."

Julie grabbed a couch cushion and threw it at the brothers, hitting them both. But they just laughed and watched as she picked up the phone and started dialing.


	18. Family Reunion

The next morning, Julie woke up and found herself alone in the apartment. She hadn't expected the brothers to leave before noon, but she had been mistaken. They left a good-morning note with a roll of quarters so she could do their laundry. It made her chuckle as she pocketed the quarters and made herself some breakfast. She was thinking about the night at the pub while she ate her cereal. Even though it had been over a full day since she had seen the man who had slapped her, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.

Rinsing out her bowl, she decided to watch TV for a little while. There wasn't much on as she flipped through the two or three channels the old set picked up. With a sigh, she grudgingly admitted to herself that it was just plain boring without the twins to keep her company. After an hour or two, she gathered up all the dirty clothes in the apartment to haul them to the laundromat. In a little tote-bag, she stuffed her romance novel and a few other things to entertain her.

While she was in the bedroom, she noticed Pokey laying on the bed. She picked him up and ran her fingers along his seams. The stuffed animal was the one thing she had left from her uncle before he had been killed. The penguin was almost as big as her chest, perfect to cuddle up with at night. Julie found what she was looking for among the stitching and a few moments later stuffed Pokey in the tote as well.

The trek to the laundromat was hard without the boys' help. She nearly had to drag the bags of clothes behind her to make it. But once she got there, she found the place rather empty. As she sat, waiting for each load to finish, she read more of her romance novel. Every once in a while though, she paused and tried to remember where she had seen that face. In the middle of the third load, the answer dawned on her.

"Oh shit," she groaned to herself as she stuffed clothes into the dryer.

She remembered seeing the face before at her parents' house several months ago. The man's name still escaped her, but not the fact that he had been one of her father's new co-workers. One of his new sleazy friends. She could only hope the man would be too embarrassed about being beaten up by a girl to mention anything to her father. Of course, even then, her hope wasn't much. Sitting back down in her seat, she pulled Pokey out of the bag and set him on her lap. He was heavier than when she had first picked him up that morning, and she knew perfectly well why.

---

The laundromat experience was entirely uneventful. By the time late afternoon rolled around, she was finished and hauling the clothes back to the apartment. Everything neatly put away, she wondered what there was to make for dinner. She didn't know exactly when the boys would be home, but she did know there was no way they could all eat off the few scraps of pizza that were left in the fridge. Nothing else seemed very appetizing either. With a sigh, she decided she had better go do a little shopping.

Encouraged by the lack of trouble earlier, Julie decided to leave her novel and Pokey behind on the table. She made sure to have her wallet and key the brothers had left her before leaving the apartment again. The little grocery store was only a block away, close enough for walking. It had started getting dark already as she made her way to the store.

It was quiet inside, only the muzak and occasional baby cry breaking the steady drone of shopping carts across linoleum. Julie suppressed a shudder, feeling like someone was watching her. Turning, she saw no one there. With a shrug, she picked up a sack of potatoes. At the little deli, she got lunch meat and a roast. It was too late for the latter, but would be a nice meal for the next day. That was assuming the boys had something to cook it in.

She smiled to herself as she thought about it. Two brothers in their messy little apartment, killing people in the name of Truth and Justice because their God commanded them to, sipping beers and smoking as they rough house and curse up a storm. And in walks a girl, all broken up, inside and out, with no one to care for her, like a lost little puppy. Who better to take her in?

The check-out line took to long for Julie's taste. All the housewives doing last minute dinner shopping like she was, and men buying their cheap booze. Everyone gawking at the gossip magazines. She shook her head and got the same paranoid feeling of someone watching her. Looking back, she caught the gaze of a woman with curlers still in her hair. The woman glared and Julie looked away.

Darkness had snuck up on her while she was in the store. The only thing to light her way home were a few street lamps and the occasional store sign. She was only a few buildings away from the apartment when she heard a trashcan topple over behind her. Spinning around in fear, she noticed a tomcat scampering off down an alley. When Julie turned back, she nearly dropped all of the groceries.

"So this is where you've been, you little bitch," her father scowled at her in the semi-darkness. "I've been looking all over this god-damned city for you, and you've been shacking up with two McFaggots?"

She tried to back away from him, but he was quicker, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her nearly to the ground.

"I'm taking you back home, you worthless piece of shit," he growled. "But first, we're gonna get all the things those little bastards stole from my house."

"Those were my things," she mumbled, trying to pull her hair free.

He smacked her hard across the face, stunning her for a moment. "You don't own anything. You're not good enough to own anything. Everything you have is mine by right because without me, you wouldn't be here."

Julie held onto the groceries for dear life as her father started dragging her by the hair toward the brothers' apartment.

**A/N: Short chapter, I know, but hopefully you like it. Let me know what ya think!**


	19. Choking Hazard

Julie was slammed against the apartment door, almost losing her grip on her bags. The hall was empty, so there was no one there to help her. She highly doubted anyone would have anyway. Her father grabbed her hair again and rammed her forehead into the door. She suppressed her yelp of pain as he leaned in close.

"Open the fucking door, now," he ordered through clenched teeth.

She fumbled in her pocket for the key, almost dropping it. When her father saw this, he yanked her hair harder. "Quit being stupid and do what I said."

The door finally unlocked, it was pushed open wide as her father shoved her inside so hard she nearly hit the floor. He flicked on the lights and gave the main room a quick glance.

"You leave our nice home for this dump," he spat, picking her up off the ground by her hair.

Julie had let the groceries go, and was trying to pull her hair free of him, but his grip was too tight. She wanted to tell him how stupid it was for him to go bursting into someone's home without knowing anything about it. But that would have led to another slap or two, which she was too afraid to chance. Besides the twins still weren't home to protect her.

"Up, you worthless bitch," he growled. "Get on your fucking feet and start gathering the shit they stole."

He pushed her toward the bedroom door, sending her sprawling across the floor. She scrambled to her feet, reaching the door and opening it while her father stayed in the main room. Since he wasn't watching her, she tore frantically through everything in the room, looking for something to defend herself with. There were no more weapons under the bed, the brothers had taken those with them. She thought about crawling out of the window, but she was three stories up and the fire-escape was in the other room.

"What the fuck are you doing in there, Julie," her father called angrily from the other room.

She quickly ran to the big black bags and stuffed the few things she had puled out back inside. "I'm coming!"

Dragging two of the bags behind her, she went back into the main room. Her father was opening cabinets in the kitchen, pulling everything out onto the floor. She heard several dishes shatter, even the poor, worn coffee mugs she'd only seen them use once or twice. It made her cringe.

"Let's see how those little bastards like their privacy violated," her father chuckled cruelly. "Speaking of, where are those Irish pieces of shit?"

"They went out today," she replied nervously. "I don't know when they'll be back."

She hoped he would take the hint that maybe he shouldn't be there. But if there was one thing Julie could say her father was good at, it was planning ahead.

"Don't you worry," he replied gruffly, pulling out his shining, well-kept pocket knife. "If they show up, I can take care of them. They won't know what hit them."

Julie stared as the knife glittered in the light. She had felt the hilt a time or two being thumped against her head. Even the blade had had the chance to graze her skin once when she had tried to run away from him while he was beating her. It made her shudder, because even though she was sure Connor and Murphy had been wounded by worse things, there was no telling how dangerous the situation could get if they were surprised.

"There's more stuff than that," her father growled at her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She looked up at him dumbly, not understanding, and he slapped her in the face again. "Don't play dumb with me. They took more stuff than that. Go get it!"

Holding her jaw, she nodded and went back into the room to retrieve the other two bags of her things. She made another quick attempt to find anything that would help her. But still there was nothing. Maybe if she hadn't been frantic, desperate, she could have thought of something. But ever since she was little, her father's anger had always paralyzed her mind, like a frightened animal backed into a corner.

She didn't want to waste too much time or piss him off any more, so she grabbed the last two bags and dragged them in beside the others. Her father had moved on to overturning the boys' mattresses. It seemed childish to her, but there was no way she was going to tell him that. He came over to her, opening each bag and looking inside. With a grunt, he said "I guess that's probably all of it. Not like you had a lot of stuff anyway. Now lets get this shit down to the car. And when I get you home, I'll teach you to never pull a stunt like this again."

Julie nodded, trying to keep herself from crying. Picking up two bags, she turn toward the door. Her father's rough hand on her shoulder pulled her back around.

"What's that thing on your neck," he grumbled.

She raised a hand and felt the satin necklace and the Celtic cross. "It's just a necklace."

"Who gave it to you," he pressed, gripping his hand into her skin. "Those Irish bugs?"

She nodded weakly, wincing as he squeezed harder. He held out his other hand to her. "They probably stole it from some jewelry shop. Maybe I can pawn it for something useful. Give it to me."

"No," she replied before she could even consider it.

"What did you say," he father asked, face turning red. "Did you fucking tell me no?"

"I won't let you take it," she replied, backing away from him. "It's mine."

He reached a hand out to yank it off her, but she pulled back. He smacked her hard again, and a second later, his hands were wrapped around her neck, choking her. Julie fought to breathe, gurgling as she clawed at her father's hands. He showed no signs of letting go. She struggled, trying to get away, but his hands only tightened.

"Is it worth it, Julie," her father scowled, never loosening his grip. "Is that fucking necklace worth it?"

She looked him in the eye, trying to swallow and breath at the same time. A sort of calmness overtook her in that second as she watched the edges of her vision begin to go white. Raising her chin as much as she could, she gurgled out "Yes."

The hands tightened around her neck, and she wondered if he had completely crushed her windpipe. She knew she was on the verge of passing out, her vision was growing darker and her body losing strength. Closing her eyes, she realized the strange din she was hearing was blood rushing through her ears. It completely drowned out the sound of her trying to breathe and her father's cruel snicker. But there was one sound that made it through loud and clear, one she recognized.

Someone was opening the apartment door.


	20. Pokey's Little Secret

**A/N: I gave some serious consideration of withholding this chapter until I had gotten s few reviews on Ch. 19, but I just can't hold out on you guys. Just a heads up, the story is almost complete, the end is in sight... and no, it's not a sad ending like wolfchick11's latest ;)**

Julie opened her eyes just in time to see the twins spilling into the apartment. They were laughing with each other, holding take-out bags from some fast food place. Connor looked up first, like he was going to say something, but his face became utter shock. Turning his face up as well, Murphy's eyes widened. Both boys dropped their bags and made to reach into their jackets.

"Don't even try it," her father barked, pulling her in front of his body to block him.

Both brothers glanced at each other and gave slight nods. They pulled out their guns, and Julie could feel her father's hand tense around her neck. But the men carefully laid their guns on the floor in front of them. With a satisfied grunt, Julie's father through her behind him, drawing his knife. The sudden ability to breathe made Julie gasp. She fell on the floor, nearly busting her head against the table leg. Looking up after a few moments, she saw Pokey sitting on the edge of the table top. She reached up for him, grabbed a flipper and pulled him down beside her.

"I've come to get my things," her father told the twins, brandishing his knife defensively.

"Then take them an' go," Connor replied. "But ye'll be leavin' Julie here with us."

"I don't think so," her father shook his head. "She's mine, too. And I'm not leaving without her."

"It's not like ye want 'er anyway," Murphy retorted. "The fuck does it matter if she stays here?"

"You're right, I never did want her," Julie's father answered. "She isn't worth much more than a pack mule around the house. But she belongs to me and I'll be damned if I'm going to just let her go without my say-so."

Both brothers moved forward, as though they were planning to jump the armed man. Julie's father struck out with his knife, grazing Connor's upper arm. When Murphy moved in, her father stuck him in the shoulder. He hissed in pain and backed up half a step. Connor made another move forward, but caught the knife blade across the palm of his hand. He cried out in pain and frustration.

Julie go to her feet behind her father quickly, jamming her hand into the secret pocket in Pokey's back. She had regained her breath finally and had wanted to cower under the table, but the sound of Connor and Murphy being wounded had made up her mind for her. She pressed Pokey a hair's breadth away from the back of her father's head.

He must have felt it, because he turned to look at her with a scowl. "What the fuck is this?"

"Remember when Uncle Jimmy gave me Pokey for my fifteenth birthday," she glared at him, gritting her teeth and feeling the adrenaline coursing through her body as she breathed hard. "Everyone said it was odd to give a fifteen year old girl a stuffed animal. Well, there was a reason he gave me this damned doll."

"What the fuck are you talking about," he glowered, looking angry and confused.

With a satisfying click, Julie drew the hammer back on the handgun she had hidden inside Pokey's secret compartment. Her father must have recognized the sound because his eyes widened. From the corner of her vision, she saw Murphy start to lunge forward, but Connor stopped him, holding him back and saying something softly to calm him.

"Uncle Jimmy knew all along how bad you had been treating me," Julie said harshly to her father, pressing the barrel of the gun through Pokey's stomach and against his head. "But he was killed before he could save me from you."

"So, you'd rather stay here with these creeps" he asked nervously.

"They're my new heroes," she replied. "They saved me from you once, and I won't let you hurt them because of it."

"Julie,I," he started to reply, but she jammed the gun harder against his head.

"Twenty fucking years, Dad," she spat. "For twenty fucking years you and mom have beaten me, spat on me, insulted me, and taken everything you could from me. No more. It ends tonight. Right here, right now."

Her father closed his eyes, waiting for the shot. Julie's finger itched against the trigger. For a moment, everything was silent and tense. She looked up at the brothers, their piercing blue eyes watching her in anticipation. The fingers of her left hand trailed up to the cross at her neck. Tightening her jaw, Julie raised the gun from her father's head and brought it down hard across his face. Even with Pokey's fluff to cushion it, the blow was still enough to knock her father backwards a few steps.

The men grabbed his shirt from either side, pulling him toward the door. Julie watched them drag her father away, and secretly, she hoped they would finish the job she had started. But they only took him to the door.

"Ye'll be gettin' the fuck out now," Murphy said harshly, nearly ramming her father's head into the door.

"Julie," her father called angrily over his shoulder, pulling away from the brothers. "After all these years, everything I've ever done for you?"

"Yer lucky she didn't put a bullet in ye fer every bruise ye've ever given 'er," Murphy replied.

"Aye, that's what I'd be doin'," Connor added, reaching for the doorknob. "But Julie is a generous young lass."

"If ye ever show up here or bother Julie again," Murphy warned. "She won't have ta shoot ye. We'll do it for 'er."

Her father looked at her, and for a second, she imagined she saw fear in his eyes. A second later, the boys had shoved him into the hallway and closed the door on him. Connor threw the lock before both brothers turned back to look at her. She slid Pokey off the gun, setting the gun on the table and clutching him to her.

Murphy gave a gentle smirk. "I can't believe ye had a gun hidden in the penguin."

Julie looked over, starting to smile, but with the sudden loss of adrenaline, her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor. The brothers cried out her name in concern as they came rushing over to her. Both sets of hands gently pulled her into a sitting position. Tears had started to stream down her face, and she was trying hard not to sob.

"Ah, Julie," Murphy said, sounding almost sad. "Look what the bastard did to yer neck."

Connor's good hand slid across her cheek and into her hair, making her look up at him. He had a slight smile as he said reassuringly "He's gone fer good now. Ye've stood up ta 'im, and scared the livin' shit out of 'im."

Julie started laughing a bit, then it grew deeper, more hysterical. Before too long, it changed into weeping. She wrapped an arm around each brother's neck and pulled them in close to her. Connor pressed his lips to her temple, while Murphy ran his along her jawline on the other side. All three heads ducked together, they sat there on the floor for several long quiet moments.


	21. Can't Stay Forever

**A/N: Thank you for all the great comments. I was glad myself when Julie finally stood up for herself against her father... and that Pokey proved he was worth his fluff XD**

Three weeks later, Julie returned to the apartment after her first day back at work. The brothers were in the kitchen, carrying plates around as they got dinner together. Murphy looked up, cigarette dangling from his lips, and smiled at her.

"Well, look who's come home, Conn," he laughed, setting his plate down so he could remove the cigarette and kiss her forehead. "Our own little workin' girl."

"Welcome home, Julie," Connor grinned, kissing her temple as he sat the rest of the plates on the table. "Now pull up a seat before the food gets cold."

Julie surveyed the table. There was a bowl of mashed potatoes, some green beans, and a plate of chicken. It all looked very tasty, but she eyes the boys skeptically. "You guys cooked dinner."

"Aye," Murphy scoffed.

"Ye know, just because we're a couple a Irishmen doesn't mean we can't cook," Connor replied, sitting down at the table beside his brother.

She felt a little guilty, setting her bag on the floor before taking a seat. The men clasped their hands as they prayed over the food, and she joined them, touching the cross still around her neck. When they had said their amens, the brothers smiled up at her expectantly. Julie gathered some of the food onto her fork and took a bite. She fought the urge to spit it all back out onto the plate. The chicken wasn't too bad, just a tad dry; the green beans were entirely over-cooked almost to the point of being cardboard. But it was the mashed potatoes that made her nearly gag. They were almost raw, dry and over-salted.

Smiling weakly, she swallowed the food in her mouth. She took a drink to wash it down. "That was… nice."

The brothers smiled at each other approvingly, taking bites themselves. She gave a silent three count, then as if on cue, sour expressions crept onto the men's faces. Connor had the decency to spit his half-chewed food out into a napkin. Murphy just let it roll straight out of his mouth and onto the plate. Julie couldn't keep herself from laughing hard at the sight.

"Maybe we can't cook, Murph," Connor said despondently.

Murphy nodded. "Ye think we would've at least done the potatoes right."

They looked down at their plates pitifully which made Julie give a gentle moan of empathy through her laughter.

"Oh, you boys look like two sad puppies," she smiled gently, standing and picking up the bowls on the table. "It's alright, I'll fix something up out of this."

"But Julie, ye just got home from work," Connor protested.

Julie waved the thought away, tousling his hair and kissing his cheek, then turning to do the same to Murphy. "No trouble at all. Besides, you gentlemen shall be assisting me. Now, up and join me in the kitchen."

They stood as ordered and followed her. She sat the bowls and plate on the counter and turned to the men. "Alright, I'm going to need four cans of beer."

Connor nodded and went to the fridge as Murphy leaned against the counter behind her while she puled out a frying pan. "So, how was work anyway, Julie?"

"Took a little getting used to again," she smiled, chopping the chicken into cubes. "It's a good job, but I was thinking of maybe getting a different one."

"Any ideas," Connor asked as he walked over with the cans.

"Not yet," Julie replied, shaking her head as she popped one of the cans open.

She poured a good portion of the can into the bowl of green beans and started mixing it with a spoon to fully coat it. Then she dumped some of the chicken cubes into the mix before putting some butter to melt in the frying pan.

"What are ye makin', woman," Murphy asked as both brothers watched her intently.

"You'll see," she winked, scooping some of the beer-vegetable-chicken mixture into the potatoes.

"And what is it ye need us t'do," Connor smiled, looking over her shoulder.

Julie opened the other three cans, handing one to each brother, then picked one up for herself. Raising the can in salute, she brought it to her lips and started drinking. The men laughed appreciatively and started drinking as well.

"My kinda lass," Murphy winked at her.

"Oh really," Connor replied. "Well, get in line, little brother."

Murphy scowled and started to say something, but Julie clucked her tongue and playfully warned "Boys, don't start fighting."

They gave defeated grumbles and she smiled at them, smashing out patties of the mixture she had created. The brothers watched astonished as she threw the patties in the frying pan and started cooking them up. All three drank and stood around in the kitchen until the patties had been fried to a nice crispiness. Julie plated them and took two forkfuls, holding them out for the brothers.

"Careful," she warned. "They're hot."

They glanced at each other and leaned in to take the bites. Both chewed slowly at first, then a little quicker.

"Fuckin' 'ell, Julie," Murphy smiled with his mouth full of food.

"God's given ye a gift, woman," Connor shook his head in disbelief as he stole another bite of the food.

She smiled at the fondly as they ate her cooking. "He's been pretty good to me lately."

They looked up at her from their plates, grinning and chewing in delight. She joined them in eating, and before long, the plates had been cleaned of food. The brothers did the dishes and let Julie go take a shower. When she emerged, scrubbed clean of all the day's grime, the boys were sitting at the table. She walked over and sat with them. They looked up at her, almost like they were disappointed.

"What's wrong," she asked, looking between the two of them.

"We've been discussin' things, Julie," Connor replied cautiously.

"Oh," she remarked softly. "Judging from your faces, it was about me."

"Aye," Murphy nodded slowly, lighting a cigarette and leaning his elbows in the tabletop.

"It was a hard decision fer us ta make," Connor said, giving her a sad glance. "But we think it's almost time fer ye ta be leavin' us."

Julie licked her lips, drumming her fingers nervously against her thigh. "I see."

"Damn it! We love ye, Julie, more than anythin'," Murphy practically erupted. "An' we'd want nothin' more than ta keep ye with us."

"But," Connor added, giving his brother a concerned look before bringing his eyes back to hers. "We know there's more out there fer ye than just takin' care of a couple a no-good bastards like us."

"I don't mind it," she laughed gently, sadly. "But I'll admit, I've been expecting this."

"It's not tha' we don't want ye here," Murphy soothed. "It's just… It's just that we can tell ye're not meant ta stay here. Ye're not meant ta spend yer days cookin' fer us an' tendin' our wounds. Ye deserve more."

"But I love you guys," she replied, voice quavering as she tried to hold back her tears. "And you're all I've ever known outside of my parents' house."

"Ye'll learn more, Julie," Connor assured. "Ye're a bright lass and ye'll go far."

"But I'm scared to be without you," she finally said, burying her face in her hands as she burst into tears.

"Hey, come on, now," Connor urged, walking over to her and gathering her into his arms. "It's alright, darlin'. It's not like we're puttin' ye out tonight."

"Aye," Murphy added, joining them and running his fingers over Julie's hair. "We'll be findin' ye a nice place. Much nicer than this dump. With a big kitchen so ye can cook all those wonderful meals a yers."

Julie sniffled and gave a soft laugh against Connor's chest. "But the two of you won't be there."

"Lord help me fer sayin' this," Connor said, glancing skyward as he shook his head. "But we'll always be with ye, Julie. Even when we're not there ta talk ta or ta touch, we're there in spirit."

"Ye're a part of us now, sweetheart," Murphy smirked matter-of-factly. "And whether ye like it or not, ye're stuck with us, one way or another."

Julie pulled away from Connor's chest and smiled at Murphy, running her hand along his cheek as she looked up at Connor. "You boys are something else."

"We'll take that as I compliment," Connor laughed, barely loosening his arms around her.

She looked at the floor, chewing on her bottom lip. "Do you mind if I sleep with you guys tonight?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Murphy said with an evil smirk.

Julie clucked her tongue. "You know what I mean."

"Aye, I do," he smiled, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her cheek. "Now, Connor, why don't ye be a good little brother and push the mattresses together?"

Connor glowered, and made to lunge for his brother. Julie put a hand on both their chests and pushed them apart. "No fighting, boys."

"Ah, ye know, ye're startin to sound like Ma," Murphy chuckled.

"I'm going to tell her you said that," Julie chided, watching Murphy's face turn to partial terror while Connor laughed evilly.


	22. All Good Things

Julie sat between the twins in the front seat of their car. Several bags of her things were piled into the backseat. Connor drove while Murphy sat with his arm thrown around her shoulder.

"I'm nervous, guys," she said quietly, holding Pokey in her lap.

"We know," Connor nodded. "But ye'll fall in love with the place once ye see it."

"I still can't believe you guys bought me my own little house," she added, looking back and forth between them. "Are you guys sure you don't want me to pay some kinda rent?"

"Of course not, Julie," Murphy chided gently, half hugging her.

"Besides," Connor added. "It wasn't all that expensive. Just lucky we found it in such a good neighborhood."

"Wanted to make sure ye'd be safe," Murphy informed. "Plus, it has a big kitchen like I promised."

"When Da comes back with Ma, ye'll have ta cook us a big, family meal," Connor smiled.

"Of course," Julie grinned back, clutching Pokey a little tighter.

"And ye know how ye were thinkin' a gettin' a new job," Murphy asked. "Well, there's a sweet, old widowed lady what owns a bakery just down the street. Says she's been needin' some help since her husband just passed."

"I've always wanted to work in a bakery," Julie beamed.

"And so ye shall," Connor replied happily, pulling over to the side of the road. "Ah, here we are."

He stepped out of the car cautiously as Murphy got out, pulling Julie along with him. It was a small brick house which could have barely fit two bedrooms. The yard was small as well, but neatly trimmed with bushes growing around a small porch. There must have been some kind of backyard because there was a fence. By many people's standards, it would have been on the small side. But to Julie, it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

"We have a surprise fer ye before we show ye inside," Murphy smirked, leaning in close to her.

Connor whistled through his teeth and there was a sudden sound of yapping. Through the open gate in the fence, two puppies came running out to great Julie. To her amazement, they were Irish wolfhound pups. Crouching down to see them better, she realized they must have been from the same litter because the coloring was the same, but with just a tad different features.

"We saw 'em and knew we had to get 'em fer ye," Connor chuckled as the puppies attacked her with their tongues. "Ta keep ye company when we're not around."

Julie giggled as one of the pups practically jumped onto her and licked her furiously. "This one's Murphy!"

The other puppy licked her softly, wagging his tail a little as he sniffed and nuzzled her face. "And Connor!"

"Aye," Conner smiled. "That's because the pup knows how ta treat a lady."

"Well, see who's gettin' more attention," Murphy retorted playfully, jabbing his brother's side a little with his elbow.

The two puppies started batting at each other, until they began to roll around in the grass, playfighting. Julie glanced up at the brothers. "Just like their namesakes."

The twins both smiled sheepishly at her before grabbing some bags out of the backseat. All three went about the house, setting things up for Julie to move in. Murphy had been right, the kitchen was rather big for the small house, perfect for if she ever felt like making a meal, with its own little dining room off to one side. Most of everything was furnished already. Apparently one of the reasons the house had been so cheap was that the owner had died while in the hospital. The family needed to money to pay for the medical bills and was willing to sell cheap with everything left inside. Leave it to the boys to find a way to help two people in one fell swoop.

The bedroom had a queen size bed, which of course was call for a joke or two from Murphy. After a few hours, everything was ready for Julie to begin her stay. She walked with the boys back out to their car, the puppies running around their feet.

"We're sorry we have to go so soon," Connor said remorsefully. "But we've got some business ta tend ta."

"Otherwise, we'd be stayin' the night with ye," Murphy added, no sign of teasing in his voice.

"It's okay, boys," Julie smiled, still holding Pokey in one hand.  
"Either way," Murphy continued. "We'll be by tomorrow mornin' ta check on ye."

"Aye," Connor smiled. "And we'll bring ye some breakfast so ye won't have ta break in yer new kitchen just yet."

Julie smiled sadly. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"And we'll miss havin' ye around the apartment," Murphy nodded. "But we're only a short bus ride away. Soon ye'll have yer own car and ye can come and visit us any time ye want. Ye still have the key to the place."

"And ye know we'll be over here at least once or twice a week to play cards with ye," Connor winked. "Or maybe take ye out ta the pub."

"I'll make keys for you guys too, for whenever you want to come over and crash," Julie smiled. She brought Pokey up to her chest and ran her fingers over the cross at her neck. Then quietly she asked "With the things that you two do… would you leave town without telling me?"

"If ever we should have to leave town," Connor assured. "Ye'd be the first and only person ta know."

"And that's because we'd be comin' to collect ye," Murphy added, smirking. "We won't let ye stray too far from us now."

"I'm part of the flock," she smiled softly.

Both brothers looked taken aback. Connor asked "What was that ye said, Julie dear?"

"That I'm part of the flock," she repeated. "When I first started living with you guys, I found this prayer written on a piece of paper. Oh, which reminds me!"

Julie opened the pocket on Pokey's back and pulled out two small wooden plaques. She handed one to each brother. Burned into the wood in intricate letters was the prayer she had found. "I had these made for you, as a little thank you gift."

"This is our family prayer," Murphy said, sounding astonished as he ran his fingers over the wood.

"There was only one other person outside the family that we had thought about telling it to," Connor added. "But he was killed before we could teach him."

"Oh," Julie said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

The brothers looked at each other for a moment, then both nodded slightly. Murphy looked up at her with a soft smile. "Ye've earned the right ta know it."

"I had memorized it," she said ruefully. "Only because it sounded so pretty."

Conner tucked a finger under her chin and raised her face to look at him. "Then we want ye ta pray it every night before ye go ta sleep."

"And every morning when I wake up," Julie nodded.

"There's a good lass," Connor grinned, running his fingers through her hair before pressing his lips softly against hers.

He stayed there close to her longer than was casual, but she wouldn't bring herself to push him away. When he finally backed up, she gave him a gentle smile.

"Ah, now ye've done it," Murphy interjected. "Now ye've got ta kiss me as nice ta make it even."

Julie giggled as Murphy pulled her into his arms and settled his lips over hers. It wasn't as long, but she couldn't say it wasn't as nice. Giving each a lingering hug, she stepped back to let them get in the car.

"We'll see ye tomorrow, Julie," Connor called from the driver's side.

"Oh and one last thing," Murphy added. "We'll be taken ye ta get inked tomorrow afternoon."

"What," Julie asked surprised. "You mean a tattoo?"

"Aye," Murphy nodded. "Just a small one."

"But why," she continued.

"Well, we have 'truth' and 'justice,'" Connor said, leaning over Murphy to point to both their hands. A wide grin crossed his face. "Ye'll have ta be our 'American Way.'"

Julie started to laugh, remembering the remark she had made when they first met. Then, the boys were pulling away from the curb. She raised a hand in farewell, both brothers sticking a hand out the window to wave good-bye as they drove down the street. When they were out of sight, Julie clutched Pokey harder to her chest, running her fingers over her Celtic cross as she walked down the little pathway to her new house, the two Irish pups following closely at her feet.

_End._

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**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. You've kept the story going this long. I kind of have an idea for a sequel, but it hasn't completely developed in my head yet. However, I do know that it will have a higher rating, if you know what I mean. Please let me know if it's worth the writing. ;) Hopefully, you'll all read the other BDS fics to come out of my twisted head! XD**


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